Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The Banjo is a modern Creation

So why shouldn't it be always present at the cutting edge of science?
Check out this story!

"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. 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."


Eddie was a founding member of the Country Gentlemen with John Duffy and Charlie Waller. What songs you think he played while the surgery was going on?

3 comments:

Chris Burgoyne said...

Banjo jokes!


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

Joe said...

you a very funny guy :)

Chris Burgoyne said...

Ayo!
I got those from the comments section on the Eddie Adcock story.