My tablet is running out of battery. The last image I can sketch is in the middle of the language mapping: as Katharina is touching the brains with a pair of electrodes, triggering a temporary inactivation at a determined point, Mehmet is showing to the lady a set of images. Every time Mehmet says “anomie,” it means that the word, like “hand” or “cat,” came out wrong (or not at all) out of the patient’s mouth. Katharina then duly puts a numbered piece of paper on the area she just probed, and registers it into the machine with a long steel needle before moving on. Another round of images focuses on actions. This series of linguistic tasks, coming straight from neuroscientific experimental processes, makes it possible to assess which precise parts of the cortex are critical to the speech functions. The lady is getting tired, but the key information is in. The resection can start! It’s an impressive moment which I won’t be able to render today in the graphic form, as my iPad calls it a day. Next operation is in two days. That’s exciting!
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