Slim Novel 15 - http://adventuresofkimi.blogspot.com - See Homepage
22. Becoming an Idiot Savant
Eddie and Nina sit in her office at 2 AM doing his break from reading Dudley-White's Heart Disease. They sit on the white sofa on the drape she keeps over it to prevent soiling and staining, and Nina serves her tuna fish sandwiches with herbs.
"Eddie, thank you again for introducing me to psychoanalysis and Dr Stan."
Eddie knows about its progress because Dr Stan discusses it with him. Stan's first feeling is that since nymphomania is what he calls an internally driven behavior it must be due to brain patterning. So first, while he probes her psychology, he checked her physical factors - blood tests for abnormal hormone levels, the electroencephalogram for abnormal brain electrical patterns, and brain imaging by what was the only available method in the 1950's - the pneumoencephalogram - looking for abnormal brain structure.
And - Lo! - he discovered she had runs of very fast spiking electrical waves suggesting epileptic seizures coming from the hypothalamus - deep in the brain center. Not enough was yet known of the exact significance of these waves but Stan guesses Nina's nymphomania is due to these small deep central seizures. So he puts her on pills to prevent the seizures. And he calls in the neurophysiologist from Columbia University and together they devised magnetic wave brain treatments that Nina gets once a week to neutralize and retrain the brain.
As Nina describes to Eddie in glowing words full of gratitude her good response, what she does not know and Eddie does know but keeps mute on, is that Dr Stan guesses that much of this good response may be placebo effect - the good effect of a harmless treatment a patient believes in. That is not to say Dr Stan is not optimistic what the result will be after a year; it is just to say that several weeks is too soon for his treatment to definitely claim it has mattered other than placebo.
But it is good news. Nina ends her thanks by bestowing a tender lips kiss on Eddie, who has with difficulty avoided handling this beautiful butterfly for fear he may frighten her away.
Eddie separates his lips from hers and says suddenly, "OK, Neen! Back to Dudley-White. Like monkey at typewriter I am monkey at book. If I read one book forever I eventually become genius at it like an idiot savant is genius at one thing only." He gets up and goes down to his reading desk where Dudley-White's chapter on the Electrocardiogram - written in 1930 - awaits.
For next, click 15.23 The library to Home Computer System
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