A surgical team from Italy have just reported that they've altered human brain function through neurosurgery conducted from outside the skull, by using beams of radiation.
The technique is known as radiosurgery and, in itself, isn't novel. The team used the Cyberknife system, specifically designed to do this sort of operation.
However, the technique is typically used to treat brain tumours, and what is new is that the team have adapted this method to permanently knock out targeted areas to alter overall brain function.
They were inspired by deep brain stimulation and functional brain surgery. These aim to do a similar thing and are most commonly used to treat tremors and movement problems in Parkinson's disease by altering the movement circuits in the brain.
This new operation aimed to...
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