ect.

"Chavez and I have run a series of EEG's on Marks. We now have the
records of EEG's on the other two team members, and Steve has managed
to turn up a pre-project EEG on one which gives us a basis of
comparison. Now, to comprehend our tentative hypothesis, you must
understand something of what is known about the brain."

Rick prepared to listen without much understanding. The field in which
Parnell Winston worked was new and strange to him, and while he
understood some of the basic theories, he got lost when Winston got
highly technical.

"Our understanding of the human brain is fairly recent," Winston
began, "and we're still only on the threshold of knowledge. In a way,
we've just discovered the tools of research. The principal tool, of
course, is electricity. Through it we can explore the electrochemical
nature of brain processes."

Rick was with him so far. He concentrated hard, not wanting to miss a
word.

"There's no point in reviewing the entire history of brain physiology.
You all know of Pavlov's work on conditioned reflexes. And you all
know that Fritsch and Hitzig demonstrated that, when electrically
stimulated, certain portions of the brain show a response. You also
know that Caton discovered many years ago that the brain itself
produces electric currents."

Rick didn't know, but he intended to find out. There must be some
works on brain physiology in the library.

"However, the important modern work started with Berger in the late
1920's. He found that the brain emits a definite pulse of activity,
which was then known as the 'Berger rhythm.'

"Since then, Berger's work has been very much refined. We now know
that the brain actually produces a number of clearly defined
electrical rhythms. These rhythms have been used in medical diagnosis
of brain injury. Walter, in England, has even developed a machine that
will show whether or not people will get along with each other, by
analysis of their wave patterns."

This was interesting, and Rick intended to find out more about it. But
he began to wish Winston would come to the point.

"I might add that the rhythmic brain patterns seem to be highly
individual. No two are alike, even in identical twins. However, each
person shows a pattern that remains fairly constant, even over a
period of years.

"With this background, you will understand when I report that the
EEG's taken of our colleagues brains are completely abnormal. The
EEG's were taken whi