Mapping the Brain

According to CNN, Ted Kennedy, a senator since 1962, suffered a seizure May 17 while walking his dogs at his home in Hyannis port, Massachusetts. “A tumor in the left parietal lobe could affect the senator's ability to speak and understand speech as well as the strength on the right side of his body”, said CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Three days later, Kennedy's doctors at Massachusetts General said preliminary results from a brain biopsy showed a tumor in the left parietal lobe was responsible for the seizure. (continued)

Ted Kennedy’s diagnosis of a brain tumor and subsequent surgery brought home realizations of the senators’ many contributions to the US Senate. The impact of his illness within the senate chambers was obvious for anyone peering into C-span broadcasts at the time. Sen. John McCain has described Ted Kennedy as “the last lion in the Senate”.

Amidst the sadness one could find a great deal of hope regarding the medical effort being made on Senator Kennedy’s behalf. Among the team of experts determining candidacy for "awake brain surgery" as well as assisting the actual surgery to debulk the tumor was a speech language pathologist. The SLP, along with a neurosurgeon, neuroanesthesiologist, neurologist and computer engineer, monitored the senator’s language ability when the surgical procedure came close to language regions of the brain. The SLP administers tests conscious patients to assess both reading and speech abilities during surgery. In some cases, language interpreters participate during surgery for patients who speak languages other than English and provide translation for the neurologist and speech pathologist to understand the patient's responses.

I began wondering what might have run through the SLP's mind as he or she probed for responses from an individual who’s brain has witnessed, and in some cases helped to mold our country’s political history. Certainly it inspires awe in the capacity of the brain beyond stimulus-response modes. That modern medical science can map brain-body functions in it’s own right is impressive and we can hope that Senator Kennedy’s recovery and further treatment benefits from this knowledge.

For full CNN story go to: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/02/kennedy.surgery/?imw=Y&iref=m...