Life's Potentials
85
MARSH AND BEAMS'S EXPERIMENT
Undercurrents in Neurology
While the investigation of the total body field moved haltingly for-
ward in the study of simple animals, several neurophysiologists began
finding out odd things about the nerves of more complex creatures, data
that Bernstein's action potential couldn't explain. Going through the old
literature, following lead after lead from one paper to the next, I found
many hints that there were DC potentials in the nervous system and that
small currents from outside could affect brain function.
The first recorded use of currents on the nervous system was by
Giovanni Aldini, a nephew of Galvani and an ardent champion of vi-
talism. Using the batteries of his archenemy Volta, Aldini claimed re-
markable success in relieving asthma. He also cured a man who today
would probably be diagnosed as schizophrenic, although it's impossible
to know how much benefit came from the currents and how much from
simple solicitude, then so rare in treating mental illness. Aldini gave his
patient a room in his own house and later found him a job. Some of
Aldini's experiments were grotesque - he tried to resurrect recently ex-
ecuted criminals by making the corpses twitch with electricity - but his