Beginning in the 1940s, Canadian brain surgeon Wilder
Penfield mapped the brain's motor cortex—the area that
controls the movement of your body's muscles. He did this by
applying mild electric currents to the exposed brains of
patients while they were in surgery.
Now you can relive his exploration of the brain. In the
following feature we give you an electric probe and an
exposed brain. All you need to do is shock and observe.
NOTE: The brain's motor cortex—the subject of this
feature—controls body movements. Adjacent to the motor
cortex is the "somatosensory cortex," which is the area of
the brain that receives sensations from the body. In the
program "Secrets of the Mind," Dr. Ramachandran's discussion
deals with the somatosensory cortex.
Shockwave is a plug-in that allows for increased
interactivity. If you can see the animated boxes at left,
the plugin is already installed. If you do not see the
boxes, you can
install the Shockwave plugin
or select this feature's non-Shockwave version.
This activity and its related text first appeared in
the
You Try It
section of the
A Science Odyssey
Web site. Go to You Try It to access other interactive
features including Atom Builder, DNA Workshop, Human
Evolution, and Technology at Home.
