Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Panel OKs implant to fight depression

"Using a technique known as vagus nerve stimulation, the device uses electrodes implanted in the neck to activate brain regions that are believed to regulate mood." (Via Chapel Perilous.)





I wonder is some enterprising neuronauts will discover how to "beat the machine" and use their implants to induce a state of near-permanent bliss -- shades of laboratory rats who would rather die of starvation than surrender control of their pleasure centers.

Conversely, I can foresee the arbitrarily wealthy paying handsomely for a pill or implant that allows access to various depressive states. Recreational depression: "You know, I really feel like brooding tonight . . ."

In the first chapter of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Philip K. Dick introduces a gadget called a "mood organ" that accomplishes much the same thing acoustically.

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