(PhysOrg.com) -- By holding an electromagnet close to a person’s skull, researchers can alter the neuron activity in the person’s brain. This technique, called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), can be used for a variety of reasons, such as improving visual memory, impairing the brain’s activity to make moral judgments, and treating ADHD and severe depression. To demonstrate the kind of immediate and powerful impact that TMS can have, New Scientist editor Roger Highfield tried to recite the nursery rhyme “Humpty Dumpty,” but found that his speech was interrupted by a magnetic field.
