A Woman Perpetually Falling...

One quote I found interesting in the reading was, "The first time they tried the hat, Cheryl wore it for only a minute. They noticed that after she took it off, there was a "residual effect"." Basically, the longer Cheryl wore the device, the more time she had being independent due to the "residual effect". Another quote I found interesting was, "If certain key pathways are blocked, then the brain uses older pathways to go around them... These "secondary" neural pathways are "unmasked", or exposed, and, with use, strengthened." I found it interesting since there are hidden pathways in our brain that has never been used before, and if we ever damage our brain, it can find alternate neurological pathways to cure paralysis. The last quote I found interesting was, "But our brains also restructure themselves in response to input from the simplest tools too, such as a blind man's cane." Our brain is a natural cyborg, and can adapt to any disease or paralysis with proper training. The article starts off by following Cheryl Schiltz, who's whole vestibular apparatus is non-functional. She then tries on a machine by Mr. Bach-y-Rata that sends electrical signals through her tongue that stimulates the brain. The longer she wears it, the more independent time she has where she can walk normally. I have heard before that electrical stimulation can give functions back to body parts, but not a whole system in general. The machine allows Cheryl independence since it finds alternate, nervous pathways in the brain that has never been trained before. This allows the brain to adapt to it's environment and train the body again for movement. Cheryl can now remain independent for months just by wearing the machine for a couple days, and since then others have begun to rehabilitate their bodies from paralysis to full function.