Text: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/014/science/Zap_+.shtml Scientist bombards brains with super-magnets to edifying effect By Carey Goldberg, Globe Staff, 1/14/2003 Just by pointing his super-magnets at the right spots on your head, Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone can make you go momentarily mute or blind. He can disrupt your working memory or your ability to recognize faces. He can even make it harder for you to say verbs while nouns remain as easy as ever. Weird, yes. Fringe, no. Pascual-Leone is one of the premier scientific pioneers exploring a new technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, which shuts down or revs up the electrical doings inside the brain by sending a potent magnetic field through the skull. This is no try-it-at-home parlor trick and no ''Relieve your Pain!'' magnetic bracelet or insole. Invented in 1985, modern-day magnetic stimulators charge up to a whopping 3,000 volts and produce peak currents of up to 8,000 amps - powers similar to those of a small nuclear reactor.

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