The former shipbuilder had severe depression
unrelieved by any of today's therapies, so sick he had trouble even
leaving his house. Then doctors implanted a pacemaker-like device
to stimulate a part of his brain thought important for mood -- and
that very day the man laughed.
"It was remarkable," recalled Dr. Mark George of the Medical
University of South Carolina, who performed the experimental
implant. "I said, 'Are you being forced to laugh or do you feel
good inside?' He said both."
AP, filed at 2:52 p.m. EDT, October 11, 1999
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