Evening star., 1948-11-12
stors, Men and Atoms
Broin Thought Waves
Discovery Is Reported

discovery is NePorteo
Findings of Tufts College Scientists
May Mean Advances in Psychology
By Thomas X. Henry
Discovery of Thought waves" in the brain has
been reported here
They are extremely minute electrical i'm
pulses, measured in millionths Of o volt, which
occur at q rate of from 8 to II q second when q
person is trying to solve a problem, recalling
something from memory. or even concentrating
to keep the mind free of thought.
These waves apparently arise only from the
temporal lobes of the brains cerebral cortex,
which are located on both sides above the ears.
and in the past have not been primarily asso-
ciated with intellectual functions. They consti-
tute the first evidence yet found that thinking
is q measurable physical process.
This discovery, reported to the American As
sociation for the Advancement Of Science by
DR.. John L. Kennedy and his associates Of
Tufts College may mean revolutionary ad-
vances in psychology.
Difficult to Distinguish.
The thought waves" have not been noted in
the past because it is so difficult to distinguish
them from the most prominent of all brain
waves in normal persons-the approximately
10-per-second alpha waves. These have been
known for the past 20 years. The alpha waves
are most prominent, curiously enough, when
the eyes are closed and the mind at rest. They
can be best measured during Sleep Variations
in their normal pattern have proved valuable
to neurologists in diagnosing certain types Of
epilepsy
The new kappa waves" reported by DR..
Kennedy have approximately the same rhythm,
60 ltou OF
and are recorded only when electrodes are fixed
to the skull just behind the outside corners Of
the eyes. This position apparently has been
overlooked by previous investigators.
They flare up when any intellectual activity
Is started-as, for example, when one Is asked
to repeat from memory the names of the 4s
States or to do sum in mental arithmetic.
They have curious pattern when the subject
is reading. AS the eye starts to sweep over a
line of type they are prominent and then tend
to die down. They flare up again when the
next line Is reached. The waves seem to be
entirely unassociated with movements of the
eyes or rate of breathing
Curiously, the new waves were found in only
about half the subjects examined by the Tufts
psychologists This may be due, it is explained.
to poor conduction Of electricity through brain
tissues and skull 1t may however, represent
fundamental difference in human beings.
y
This is an age of comets
Last year broke all records, with 81 reported
from observatories all over the world. Thus
far this year, with reports far from complete,
IL have been recorded.
From the beginning of the Christian era to
1900 there were only 500. Between 1900 and
1900 there were 80 which could be seen without
f,11 al 1o%o
the southern heavens of new comet said to
be about as bright as the planet Venus most
luminous body in the night sky with the ex-
ception of the moon, has led to checking of
these records and some effort at explanation.
That there are actually more of these celes.
tial visitors, say Naval Observatory astron-
omers, is quite questionable. AL are members
OF the solar system and it is difficult to see
how any increase of comet population is pos.
sible. The probable explanation is that there
are more obsevatories, more amateurs are
keeping constant watch on the heavens, and
there is more popular interest.
Regarded as Ill Omen.
Throughout history the appearance of comets
has been regarded as an i'll omen. The more
easily visible ones seem to have flashed through
the skies in years characterized by wars,
famines and pestilences, but there is no reason
to believe that this has been more than inci-
dental. 1t would be impossible for such Q
body to have any physical effect on the earth.
Some of the recent visitors have been spec.
tacular but short-lived, such as the fve-tailed.
orange-headed comet which flashed through
the southern heavens year ago. It's bril-
lance was due to its relative nearness to the
earth, and this probably also is responsible for
the brightness of the present one.
After all, the great Haley's comet of 1910,
whose appearance led to dire predictions of
the end of the world, still holds the record
for this century. In 1709, however, there was
one brighter than Venus, four times as far
distant from the earth as is the sun. 1t holds
thu al IL iroe