Mind, brain, body, and soul: a review of the electrophysiological undercurrents for Dr. Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is perhaps the most famous work of medical science fiction. She and her husband, the poet Percy Shelley, were aware of nascent neuroscience experimentation and the effects of electricity on neuromuscular function. Such experiments generated theories of voluntary, involuntary, and unconscious neuromuscular function; animal electricity; and the anima--the human vital principle. In Germany and Italy, investigators were performing bizarre electrical experiments on animals and humans to "reanimate" lifeless limbs and bodies. These demonstrations and theories find expression in Frankenstein and provide models for Dr. Frankenstein and his creation.
Kaplan
Peter W
PW
Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA. pkaplan@jhmi.edu
D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000266:history*; D004739:England; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology