één, twee, drie, vi-urrgggghh (TMS)

TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) uses a handheld magnetic coil to cause temporary lesions in your brain — for research and therapy, of course.

TMS
TMS in action. Image from University of Oxford.

It sounds more intimidating than it actually is. When it comes to public demonstrations, the most that (visibly) happens is a twitch of the right hand or the participant’s temporary inability to continue counting basic numbers. The sides of their mouth scrunch up, and their voice trails off into a slight grunting sound.

“één, twee, drie, vi-urrgggghh…..”

It makes for great entertainment, especially when that participant is your professor, or your willing friend.

~

“Who wants to go first?”

~

TMS feels like someone is poking your head with their finger.

“You must do a lot of pointing” says the professor, after only my right index finger twitched at 65% capacity. He mentioned something about musicians having finer motor control of each individual finger, but I don’t play any instruments.

You can even apply the TMS machine on your leg. My entire left leg jumped after the professor put it on my left thigh.

I don’t think there was any purpose for that, other than curiosity’s sake.

Author: Wes

Writer, runner, student.

One thought on “één, twee, drie, vi-urrgggghh (TMS)”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *