Magnets on the brain!

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So I stumbled into a (apparently necro'd) thread where someone was talking about a study involving Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to allow improved social functioning in people with autism. Then someone brings up John Elder Robison and his experiences with this. I read this stuff...

... and then proceed to obsess on it for days. The past two days, my mind keeps coming back to this... I'm trying to research this, wondering if I could make it happen. If there's even a marginal chance of this sort of thing actually working, this sounds like the sort of thing I've been saying truthfully for years that I'd give pretty much anything for. The thought of it excites me.

I've been hoping someone's doing another study that I could participate in.

I can't find much information about the treatment as pertains to autism, results of these studies, or about who might be doing further studies, though. I'm wondering if anyone here has heard more about this; there's a lot of very knowledgeable members on this site.

Magnets can work to modify personality/behaviour. This is known already in Chakra-Healing circles. The human-body has its own bio-electro-magnetic field which is similar to earth having an electro-magnetic-field. Exposure to certain frequencies results in certain changes to or reactions from the human-body.

For example, when scratching one's nails on a chalk-board, the sound-frequencies often result in discomfort. Similarly, when certain magnetic-frequencies are applied to parts of the body, changes happen in energy currents.

I will leave the explanations at those brief sentences for now unless you want me to go into more in-depth detail for whatever reason. What martial artists always called "chi" was originally dismissed as non-existent but is now recognised in Western-culture as a form of bio-electricity. You should be able to find publications that go into more detail about how the "flow of chi (i.e.: bio-electricity)" was detected and demonstrated.

Thank you, but I'd like to focus on this specific treatment (TMS).

Damn... a thread that's pretty damn close to discussing a "cure" and... nothing? I'm kind of shocked.

Hi AJ.

It is interesting that you bring this up. I have done this type of treatment before (2012) but it was for the treatment of depression. There were some positive effects, but short-lived. If Reduced Depression = Improved Social Functioning then I could see how that claim could be plausible. Based on my experience though, I don't feel any better equipped to socialize with the rest of the world than I did prior to my treatment. If your efforts find some new information about the studies being done and their results I hope that you would be willing to share what you find. Kind Regards.

I don't know what to think. What's the difference between the magnet thing and electroshock therapy with electricity? I do think that waves from cell phones can cause brain tumors so why couldn't magnets or electricity make some sort of change with brain cells? May not be a positive change though. And some Aspies may not be answering the thread because some don't want a cure - if that's want you want to call it. I would be scared about something that might alter my brain in any way that could be irreversible.

@SharkSandwich: It is a recognized treatment for depression and has been replacing ECT except in the most severe cases. Using it to treat symptoms of autism is a newer and much less understood idea, though. It targets different parts of the brain, and it's not clear to what extent it works; it's still experimental. My hope would be to find a study being done on this, in which I could participate.

And thank you for your kind words!

@NurseAngela: Oh, most of WP is against anything even resembling a "cure". That's why I'm surprised I haven't had people in this thread going "why would you do that, that's terrible!". This isn't a cure though, it's theoretically a technique that could mitigate some autistic behaviors.

The main difference between this and "shock therapy" is that it is more precise and has more mild side effects. That allows it to be used for a wider variety of conditions. ECT is highly effective for severe depression, but it causes memory loss and other unpleasantness, and its applications are more narrow than TMS.

@Dennis Prichard: It's not truly a cure. It can't rewire a brain, which is what would be needed for a cure. What it can do is stimulate parts of the brain that may not be performing normally. Some of these areas may be ones that are responsible for processing social information, and it is theorized that treating them in this fashion could reduce social deficits and make it easier for autistic persons to pick up on the emotions of others.

I think most people would be scared to do something like this, given that the best-known testimonial from a previous study experienced quite a change in his life. I think about it and it excites me. I wouldn't give it a second thought.

I heard that guy on NPR (the guy who wrote the book about his before and after experience with the magnet treatment).

So mind blowing its hard to process!

Like you said it almost looks like a "cure".

But who knows?

Another autistic might get the same treatment and become more autistic.

There's always risks with experimental treatments, but I'd allow for some pretty extreme risks for a chance to improve my social functioning.