Evening star., 1936-05-15
BRAIN LANGUAGE
NOW UNDERSTOOD
0sciIIograph Interprets
Waves in Sick Minds,
NeuroIogists Told.
Ry THOMAS r. HENRY.

BY
KANSAS CITY, Mo, May 1S.-The
sick brain writes its own diagnosis.
Each brain has it's own handwriting,
but all brains write in the same
language.
There are four distinct brain elec-
tricity" types of human beings.
Between the fourth and fifth years
of life the electrical phenomena in
some way underlying human intell-
gence pass over a distinct crisis.
The weird syndromes of certain
types of epilepsy are accompanied by
electrical storms sweeping over the
brains cortex.
Such are some of the findings an
nounced before neurologists attending
the Convention of the American Medi-
cal Association here yesterday, OBJ
tanned from use of the newest tool for
exploration of the mysteries of human
personality and mental life. When
electrodes are placed on the skull
and attached to an amplifylng tube
and oscillograph, rhythmic electrical
potentials are recorded which vary
according to the individual and the
mental state.
Five Years Puzzled Study.
The brain literally broadcasts its
own story, but neurologiStS are just
beginning to make some sense out OF
its cryptic language after about five
gears of puzzled study.
The relationship of the brain waves
to intelligence was described by DR..
George Kreezer, a research associate
at the Training School for the Feeble
Minded at Vineland, N. j. He COM
pared the patterns from the skulls OF
two types of idiots and low-grade
moronS to those from normal persons
of various ages. 1t was found that
the pattern from the normal child
under years old and that from the
Mongolian and hereditary feeble
mindedneSs types of any chronological
age whose mental development was
beneath that of the 5-year-old normal
were essentially the same. In both
the appearance of the So-called Berger
rhythm, the most common pattern OF
brain wave, with frequency of about
10 oscillations a second, was much
less frequent than in the older or the
more intelligent.
Although the cause of these waves
Is still mystery, they are believed
to result in some way from the syn
chronized discharge of masses OF
brain cells. Apparently in the normal
development of human intelligence up
to the fifth year the cells of different
areas of the cerebral cortex have not
been regimented to discharge in this
simultaneous fashion. In the grossly
feeble mined they never learn to
do so.
Attack Can Be Forecast.
The brain wave pattern of various
forms of epilepsy varies SO strikingly
from the normal that coming at
tack actually can be forecast, accord
ing to studies reported by DR.. Fred
erick A. Gibbs of Boston. The regular
Berger rhythm gives way to an un-
mistakable violent fluctuation for
some time before the appearance Of
the seizure Sometimes this never
actually appears in the behavior of
the victim, the attack being con-
fined inside the skull.
This is especially the case with
petit NAL epilepsy, which is char
acterized by relatively slight seizures
and confusions. Here the brain waves
promise to be a tool of inestimable
value in medical research. They show
in what part of the brain the elec-
trical phenomena of epilepsy are To-
Gated Various drugs and other
therapeutic means can be tested. The
waves show that the rabbit suffers
from form of epilepsy very similar
to the human and gives to research
workers for the first time an expert
mental animal with which to study