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[Khalifa Jayy]

Holy.

http://stringvisions.ovationpress.com/2011/06/roger-frisch-follow-up-talk/

During the first part of the surgery, Mr. Frisch was awake while he was “bolted onto the table” with a metal “halo” device attached to his head. In the hour and a half before his main surgeon, Dr. Kendall Lee, came into the surgical suite, Mr. Frisch was monitored with MRI’s and with measurements of the tremor as he played violin, bowing long notes. Mayo actually bought the violin and bow he used–fortunately there was no need for him to trust his actual performance violin to the surgeons and technicians!

While he played, the surgeon inserted thin wires deep into his brain structure. After the first wire, Frisch felt a difference immediately, but the tremor was still there. He described himself as “fascinated” by the process, being a “gadget kind of guy.” He was far from alone in the room; there were about 25 people there including news people and others interested in the procedure. His surgeon asked if he wanted to try a second wire, and Frisch replied, “Why not?” With the second wire the tremor was completely gone. The crowd broke into applause.

Why not?

 

[JJDinomite]

Damn. Badass of the year contender.

 

[kirblar]

Amazing.

Also, this is totally going to show up on Hannibal somehow, isn't it?

 

[Dreadnought]

What are they talking about when they say tremor?

 

[Loomba]

Why not? He's not getting a second slice of cake here, damn son

 

[Mesousa]

Wasnt an awake brain procedure also done to President Kennedy's older sister 70 years ago? Like they cut into her brain while having her recite prayers until she stopped speaking.

 

[injurai]

What are they talking about when they say tremor?

tremors of the nervous system, so there are rogue signals from is brain being sent to his muscle groups

 

[Khalifa Jayy]

Why not? He's not getting a second slice of cake here, damn son

Lmao no joke!

What are they talking about when they say tremor?

Something to do with brain tremors which keep your body moving steadily. His hand would shake involuntarily (I'm thinking a toned down version of Parkinson's), which obviously affected his violin playing.

 

[Zantetsuken]

Very interesting. I'm curious about the actual procedure. What are the wires for and what do they look like? Where are they inserted at? I think it's neat that he was actually awake and playing the violin no less.

 

[Ferrio]

Being awake during these are standard procedure. They need to be to make sure they're not fucking with the wrong parts of the brain.

 

[Lamel]

There are many brain surgeries where the person is awake to make sure that they are okay. This story is particularly cool, it must have been awesome to see that the violin started sounding amazing as soon as the second wire was placed.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

It's an interesting procedure:

What happens during deep brain stimulation surgery?

Patients are awake under light sedation during the deep brain stimulation surgery for two important reasons. It allows your neurosurgeon to monitor electrical activity in the brain during the procedure and to test to make sure the wires are in the right place.

Deep Brain Stimulation surgery is usually performed in two stages:

• 
  Stage 1: Your neurosurgeon makes a very precise roadmap of your brain with images obtained through an MRI or CT scan. A stereotactic frame – which keeps your head in a fixed position – is a three-dimensional guidance system that helps your surgeon pinpoint areas deep inside your brain. Once the target areas are located, your surgeon implants the wires, or electrodes, in your brain. Patients usually stay in the hospital for 1-2 days after this surgery.

• 
  Stage 2: Your neurosurgeon implants the battery pack and connecting wires in the chest 10 to 14 days after Stage 1. Patients are usually awake under general anesthesia and can go home the same day.
  The generator that controls the electrical impulses in your brain is turned on two weeks after the implantation.

Some patients are concerned about being awake during surgery. If you are concerned, we invite you to speak to and connect with prior patients to learn more about the experience. The surgery can be done asleep using our advanced imaging capabilities for patients who do not want to be awake.

http://neurosurgery.ucla.edu/site.cfm?id=1352#whathappens

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Wasnt an awake brain procedure also done to President Kennedy's older sister 70 years ago? Like they cut into her brain while having her recite prayers until she stopped speaking.

That was a transorbital lobotomy, and should never be confused with what these guys are doing.

Lobotomies were used for various psychological problems before things like antipsychotics and antidepressants became available.

It was never very precise, and the transorbital lobotomy even more so. They took what amounted to an icepick, hammered it through the top of the eye socket, and scraped at your frontal lobe, trying to separate the prefrontal orbital lobe from the frontal lobe, by wiggling it back and forth.

So yeah, it wasn't very precise, and it was basically messing with the "human" part of your brain without fully understanding it. Hell, we still don't, and it's been 70 years. Some people did become less depressed and less "troublesome". However, a some also lost all personality, and some, like Rosemary Kennedy, became mentally retarded. Like, she couldn't speak properly or control bodily functions.

 

[Prez]

Was this filmed?

 

[Raistlin]

Damn. Badass of the year contender.

No more so than anyone undergoing open brain surgery.

You can't feel anything, and are required to be awake in order to test responses.

 

[RumblingRosco]

They've shown this on different TV shows, such as Grey's Anatomy, which I believe bases their fictional cases on real-world events. I think one episode had a spelling bee expert spelling out words while the neurosurgery was on-going so they could see how his speech was doing.

Always fun to see such examples exist in real life, and I would say violin playing is the craziest I've heard of so far.

 

[Pterion]

Even as a spine neurosurgeon, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the functional guys. The research projects these guys are working on are mind-blowing. I could learn these techniques next year with a fellowship, but part of me just wants to start working now and be kind of done with the constant studying...

Interestingly, functional neurosurgeons are more known for their "smarts" rather than their operative skills, at least where I trained. They are like the neurologists who turned surgeons.

Anyone interested in learning more should check out Andres Lozano TEDtalk.

 

[Rest]

Michael J. Fox has also had this done, though he wasn't playing the violin at the time.