How did this research into cardiology applications of bispectral analysis turn into a focus on brain monitoring?
One afternoon during my course of studies at the Harvard School of Public Health, an anesthesiologist who was a fellow in the laboratory with me began talking to me about the differences between the body of knowledge available on the heart versus the body of knowledge available for the brain. He said that the heart was a piece of cake when compared with the brain. It’s a simpler organ, and we understand a lot more about it. This anesthesiologist said he administered anesthesia every day but had no clue how such anesthetics affected a patient’s brain and consciousness. That conversation led me to visit Massachusetts General Hospital, where I spent several days observing the anesthesiologist at work. I became fascinated with the whole concept of brain monitoring, particularly in light of the fact that my grandfather had recently died of Alzheimer’s disease. I was extremely curious and eager to pursue a greater understanding of the brain. That eagerness led me to drop out of the PhD progr
