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Life

Empathy enhanced by magnetic stimulation of the brain

By Linda Geddes

24 August 2011

Âé¶¹´«Ã½. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Making a connection

(Image: OJO Images/Rex Features)

Magnetically stimulating the brain might improve symptoms of autism and Asperger’s syndrome

KENZO LOW could always look people in the eyes, but it hurt. “I felt a piercing intrusive sensation, like they were threatening me,” he says. All that changed when he had a non-invasive form of brain stimulation. The idea was to see if it would . Several months afterwards, he noticed a positive change in the way he interacted with his aunt: “I could look at her the entire time she spoke to me without…

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