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June 16, 2008
Senator Kennedy's Brain Surgery
By Bob Connor, The Teagle Foundation
Did you read how the surgeons at Duke prepared for their operation on the tumor in Senator Kennedy’s brain? It is one of the most amazing medical stories I have ever heard. Here’s the report from the New York Times of June 3rd:
…[D]octors at top institutions use sophisticated imaging technology to produce a precise three-dimensional image of the tumor. They put the patient under anesthesia and cut away a piece of the skull just above the tumor.
They then awaken the patient, and probe the area around the tumor to see exactly which parts of the brain are crucial for normal functioning. If the tumor is in the parietal lobe, as in Mr. Kennedy’s case, doctors typically stimulate a series of points on the surface of the exposed region while having the patient speak or identify words.
That lets the surgical team map the precise areas that support language and that should be preserved. Each brain is slightly different, so each patient must be directly tested to mark the critical areas, which are often tagged with little paper markers.
In 2006, members of the Duke team published a study suggesting that with careful imaging they could map language areas before opening the skull… The surgeon’s challenge in any such procedure is to remove as much of the tumor as possible while avoiding sensitive areas.
Scientists have made amazing progress in identifying the areas of the brain involved in various cognitive activities (and in meditation and prayer as well). The implications for surgery in cases such as Senator Kennedy’s are obvious. It’s far less clear what the implications might be for learning. Indeed, it may be many years before applications of this knowledge about the brain will prove useful in this area.
Maybe never! But the field is so exciting that we asked Jill Jeffery of NYU to read in the literature and prepare a bibliography that is now posted on our website. There’s a lot of fascinating material there.
It is good news, too, that thoughtful scholars are willing to try. We are seeing that at the Teagle Foundation through a series of grants recently made in our “Collegia” program for research universities and liberal arts colleges. Some of these Collegia are starting their work this summer; others will begin in the fall. As reports come in from these projects we’ll post them, or at least mention them on the Teagle site. In the meantime, let’s hope for the best for Senator Kennedy.
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