This article is about the research done on whether or not brain stimulation through electrical currents can improve people's performance on certain tasks. One of the tests they ran was with a program they use for soldiers. The writer uses personal pronouns yet the article remains formal.There are four guesses about where this might be headed. The first one is "Brain stimulation will expand our understanding of the brain mind connection". Many ethical challenges come up with this guess. The writer includes many rhetorical questions in this section of the article. The second one is " DIY brain stimulation will be popular - and risky". With this new DIY boom people might attempt to stimulate their brain by themselves without being aware of the risks involved. In this section the writer shows both sides of the argument very well. How it could help and how it could harm.
The third one is " Electric stimulation is just the beginning". Doctors have more ideas on how to further improve brain stimulation with other procedures like ultrasound,, sonic noise, alternating current at different frequencies, magnetic energy. The difficult part is to find exactly what part of the brain needs to be stimulated. The writer seems to support the idea by making it sound promising. The final guess is "The most important application may be clinical treatment". Doctors are worried that the potential of brain stimulation for enhancing everyday tasks will overshadow its possible use for treating patients with an actual need. Brain stimulation could help to treat " epilepsy, migraines, stroke damage and depression". The writer makes it feel as if this was the most important aspect of brain stimulation by making this section last and naming it most important. Also he mentions that tDCS researchers go to work everyday knowing how this can help many people. The article is very interesting and pulls in the reader by having an understandable structure and a casual tone. He uses easy to understand vocabulary that doesn't leave the reader confused.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/09/prepare-to-be-shocked/375072/
No comments:
Post a Comment