"When John Elder Robison published Look Me in the Eye, his darkly funny bestselling memoir about growing up with Asperger's Syndrome, he was launched into international prominence as an autism expert. But in spite of his success, he still struggled to decode the secret language of social interactions, and often felt like a misfit who understood car engines better than people. So when a group of Harvard neuroscientists told John about TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation), an experimental brain therapy that promised to remediate the disabilities of autism and unlock his emotional intelligence, he jumped at the chance to join their study. Switched On recounts the adventure that followed, as John became a guinea pig to the world's top brain researchers in an effort to understand the social and emotional deficits that lie at the heart of autism, with electrifying results. As Robison describes his transformation: "For the first time in my life, I learned what it was like to truly 'know' other people's feelings. It was as if I'd been experiencing the world in black and white all my life, and suddenly I could see everything--and particularly other people--in brilliant beautiful color.""-- Provided by publisher.

An electrifying proposal -- The value of detachment, circa 1978 -- Medical magnets -- Why change? -- Horsepower -- Informed consent -- The history of brain stimulation -- Mapping my brain -- The night the music came alive -- Emotion -- Singing for ambulances -- A family affair -- Seeing into people -- Hallucinations and reality -- Awakening -- Science fiction becomes real -- The zero-sum game -- The shimmer of music -- Aftermath -- Nature's engineers -- Speech -- A more subtle result -- Different kinds of success -- Rewriting history -- Fear -- A new beginning -- Tuning out the static -- Mind readers -- A death in the family -- Back in the groove -- The future.