7 - Making people move in slow motion

"BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Making people move in slow motion." BBC NEWS | News Front Page. 2 Oct. 2009. Web. 04 Oct. 2009. .

This article was about how researcher were able to make patients move in slow motion. They were able to achieve these results by attaching electrodes to the patients scalp and sending beta oscillations to the brain. Beta oscillations are relatively low frequency brain waves that have been found in higher intensities in those patients with Parkinson's Disease. The researchers determined that different parts of the brain work together and create certain frequencies, and bodily movements are a by product of beta activity within the brain.

The researcher ran a test in which they attached electrodes to a patients scalp and transmitted beta oscillations via the electrodes. They then would have the patient sit in front of a computer screen which had a dot on it, as well as a pointer that the patient controlled. At the sound of a buzzer, the dot would move to another location on the screen, and the patient would then have to use his pointer to go to the dot at its new location. The researchers found that the patients movements were slowed down by 10%. This study can play a curcial role in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. A possible route of treatment could be to find ways to suppress the beta oscillations, since it is the high amount of these oscillation that cause a lack of voluntary mobility.