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Banjo Used In Brain Surgery
Posted by
kdawson
on Tue Oct 14, 2008 03:54 PM
from the not-that-way-silly dept.
from the not-that-way-silly dept.
Ponca City, We love you writes "Legendary bluegrass musician Eddie Adcock has undergone brain surgery to treat a hand tremor, playing his banjo throughout to test the success of the procedure. Adcock suffers from essential tremor, a condition where there is a continuing deterioration in areas of the brain that control movement, causing a tremor that usually appears when the person tries to act or move. Deep brain stimulation can be used to treat the movement difficulties of both Parkinson's and essential tremor by sinking an electrode into the thalamus, a deep brain area that is part of the motor loop — a circuit that helps coordinate movement. Surgeons placed electrodes in Adcock's brain and fitted a pacemaker in his chest, which delivers a small current that shuts down the region of his brain causing the tremors. The most sensible thing to do was to tweak the system while Adcock was playing the banjo to optimize the effect for the thing that's most important to him."
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Just needed a PA on the guitar... (Score:5, Funny)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyKvD-4IxOY [youtube.com]
(Now imagine the brain surgeon trying to work with that going on...)
Re: (Score:2)
You don't beat this river. Machines are gonna fail. And the system's gonna fail. Then... And then what? Then survival.
Oblig Banjo Jokes (Score:5, Funny)
Q: What's the difference between a banjo and a trampoline?
A: People take off their shoes before jumping on a trampoline.
Q: Ever hear someone say, "Hey, there's that mansion where that famous banjo player lives?"
A: No, and you never will
Parent
Re:Oblig Banjo Jokes (Score:4, Informative)
Q: Ever hear someone say, "Hey, there's that mansion where that famous banjo player lives?"
A: No, and you never will
What, never hear of Hee Haw? This guy [royclark.org] was pickin' and grinnin' all the way to the bank... in one of the airplanes he owns...
Parent
Re:Oblig Banjo Jokes (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Oblig Banjo Jokes (Score:4, Funny)
A: There are no dental records and the DNA is all the same.
Parent
Re:Oblig Banjo Jokes (Score:5, Funny)
A banjo player wins the lottery. The newspaper asks: "What will you do now that you are a rich man?"
The banjo player replies: "Well, I guess I'll keep on gigging until the money runs out..."
Parent
Re:Oblig Banjo Jokes (Score:5, Funny)
"Legendary Blue Grass musician Eddie Adcock has undergone brain surgery to treat a hand tremor, playing his banjo throughout to test the success of the procedure."
Unfortunately, the procedure was a failure - he can still play the banjo...
Parent
Re:Oblig Banjo Jokes (Score:5, Funny)
Guy walks into a bar with an octopus, tells the bartender, "hey, hire me, my talking octopus will bring in customers!". Bartender says, "big deal, talking animals, we've had talking horses, dogs, fish, birds...get out of here with your stupid octopus." Guy says, "but wait, my octopus can play any instrument like a virtuoso". Bar tender points to piano, says "let's see him do something on the keyboard." Octopus goes over to piano, starts playing with eight arms, sounds like four concert pianists jamming. Bar tender yells over to live band, to bring over a guitar. Octopus plays incredible music, sounds like three guitar masters playing. Bartender says, give him a trumpet, octopus plays jazz with blinding fury over six octave range. Scotsman over in the corner says "'old on just a minute, let's us see 'im do somethin' wi' me bagpipes". Scotsman hands over his pipes to the octopus. Octopus coils and flops and grabs all over the bagpipes, nothing coming out but occasional off key honks and burps and toots. Bartender says "haha, look at him flounder, he doesn't know how to play those". Octopus looks up from his struggles and says "play it?, as soon as I figure out how to get its pajamas off, I'm gonna fuck it!"
Parent
It could have been worse (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
>> or even consider it irksome noise
On the other hand, if the feeling is specific to banjo noise, the individual is considered normal.
Music appreciation? (Score:5, Funny)
obvious (Score:2, Funny)
Title (Score:5, Interesting)
Getaway drivers of the world... (Score:2)
I guess... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I guess... (Score:5, Funny)
where's the -1 too informative mod?
Parent
in related news (Score:4, Funny)
the bariatric surgery retractor and the spinal pedicle screw have successfully been used to perform "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" by the Soggy Bottom Boys
Ignorance is bliss (Score:2)
Hmmm. (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually this isn't that unusual. In nerosurguries where the goal is not to correct some gross defect (e.g. cancer, stroke, railroad spike in a frontal lobe) the subject is often kept awake while the surgeon uses a probe to see if they can stimulate the neurological event that they're trying to surpress. I've seen it mostly with things like epilepsy, but I've been following the deep brain stim research, and it seems completely logical that they'd use the same methodology for that procedure.
That being said, watching a video (oh yes, there are videos) of someone with a big chunk out of the top of their head chattering away while a bunch of surgeons stand around behind them, poking at their brain...Lot of times the stimulation will create neurological artifacts...Memories, smells, lights...It's truly bizarre to watch. Not for the weak of stomach. //Former cognitive science major. Didn't much care for neuroanatomy.
Q: if you drop a banjo and an accordion (Score:2, Funny)
off a skyscraper, which one hits the ground first?
A. Who cares?
Re: (Score:2)
Q. What's the range of a banjo?
A. About 15 yards with a good arm.
Q. What's the difference between a banjo player and a frog?
A. The frog might get a gig one day.
A musician goes to the police station and, clearly distressed, says "Officer, I left a banjo on the back seat of my car and the window was open." The officer says "Do you want to report a theft?". Musician says "No, you don't understand - Now I have two banjos!"
s/banjo/bagpipe/
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
A: When you toss a banjo into a dumpster and it lands on an accordion.
Slashdotting (Score:5, Funny)
I am currently trolling on slashdot to test the success of my brain surgery. So far everything is just fi ~2 ,'`~ s asb a77777777777
Re:Slashdotting (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Incredible (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
When you put it like that, it does sound primitive, like medieval bloodletting.
Re:Incredible (Score:5, Interesting)
As a neurosurgeon, I have been involved in procedures like this (although not with a banjo player). To evaluate the efficacy of the tremor suppression, we frequently ask the patient to sip a glass of water.
The analogy of a surgeon as a glorified human body mechanic has been used on me in the past, too. I will accept the comparison with the following conditions:
Next time you take your car in, tell your mechanic that
1. You only plan on having one car for the rest of your life and
2. When they work on your car, they have to leave the engine running.
Parent
Banjo Brain Surgery (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I can take a brain surgery with a banjo or guitar (Score:2)
... if this is a pretty blonde girl from Minnesota or Wisconsin doing this on me. Sign me up.
What's Next.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Taking a slightly different tack, how about "Pickin' your brain"?
Re: (Score:2)
It's a good thing he isn't (Score:2)
an accordion player. Else there might've been an "accident".
and... (Score:2)
Well I guess... (Score:5, Funny)
Banjo used in brain surgery? That's not news (Score:3, Funny)
Jackhammer. Now that's news.
Or how about: "Good thing he doesn't play the tuba".
Deep Brain Stimulation Video (Score:3, Informative)
With Deep Brain Stimulation, the patient is often awake for as much of the surgery as possible. The surgeries usually can be done in a morning or an afternoon.
Here is a video of a DBS surgery: http://www.or-live.com/vanderbilt/2319/ [or-live.com]
Eddie Adcock is one of the giants (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Tag? (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, they're that immature.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Yes, they're that immature.
Listen buddy, your low UID doesn't mean you're not one of us!
Re:Tag? (Score:5, Funny)
I just hope no one from Slashdot forum has to undergo such a procedure as Adcock did. They might allow you to play with your banjo in the operating room but with their hobbies tending towards masturbation and all... Well you get the idea..
-*ZIP ZIP ZAP!*- "Giggidy Giggidy! Right there doc! Hold whatcha got!"
Parent
Re:Tag? (Score:4, Funny)
If I have to have a procedure, better it be Adcock than Subtractcock!
Parent
Re:I heard this on the stupid radio yesterday (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It's very common to have brain surgery like this while awake. In fact it's more common than being unconscious for this type of "functional" surgery because they need to know what they are doing to you in real time.
Usually they anethetise the patient for the first bit, opening the skull and so on. Then they gently bring them back to consciousness to check that the operation is not effecting brain function adversely. For example, when a tumour is removed in speech areas they'll have a nice chat with the patient. Once done they'll put the patient back under. The conscious part of the operation doesn't usually last that long.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It also helps that you don't have pain receptors (or pressure receptors?) inside your brain, only around it.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Brain function? Grammar?
Re: (Score:2)
Brain surgery's not Rocket Science for chrissakes...
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I have a friend who constantly gets those mixed up... "it's not brain science" she says, or "it's not rocket surgery."
I think she does it deliberately to irritate people.