Mary Rafferty And Neurological Stimulation

          One of the many experiments questioned for its ethics in the medical community involves Dr. Roberts Bartholow’s neurological stimulation experiment on Mary Rafferty. Mary Rafferty was a 30-year-old Irish woman who immigrated to the U.S. In 1874 she had developed a horrendously painful ulcer and/or lesion in her skull. According to Bartholow’s own notes, “The skull itself eroded… the pulsations of the brain are plainly seen… the excavation secretes a great quantity of pus.” (Patra, D. P. et al. 2019) 

          Rafferty was considered a lost cause based on her injuries, so Bartholow took advantage of the situation for his own curiosities. Rafferty was subjected to needle electrodes inserted into the various hemispheres of her exposed brain in order to test the body’s reactions to electrical stimulation. After some time Rafferty died, but her time and cause of death was not noted, as if not important. 

          Many in the medical field have discussed the ethics behind the neurological stimulation performed on Rafferty. While Bartholow was able to record his findings on the linkage between the hemispheres of the brain to motor functions in the body, it came at the cost of a human’s comfort and eventually her life. It is also important to discuss the issues of educated consent. Bartholow’s doctors notes do not describe directly if Rafferty was properly acknowledged about the possible pain and side effects she might face during this experimentation. They also leave out if she gave consent to these experiments. While this event is set in stone, it is important to look back at past occurrences in order to learn and improve for future medical use. 

Sources: 

          Bartholow, R. (1874, April). Experimental Investigations into the Functions of the Human Brain. https://www.proquest.com/docview/125254632?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals

          Harris, L. J., & Almerigi, J. B. (2009). Probing the human brain with stimulating electrodes: The story of Roberts Bartholow’s (1874) experiment on Mary Rafferty. Brain and Cognition, 70(1), 92–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2009.01.008

          Patra, D. P., Hess, R. A., Abi-Aad, K. R., Muzyka, I. M., & Bendok, B. R. (2019). Roberts Bartholow: the progenitor of human cortical stimulation and his contentious experiment. Neurosurgical Focus, 47(3), E6. https://doi.org/10.3171/2019.6.focus19349