John Elder Robison tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross how he was able to feel empathy for the first time in his life after he received transcranial magnetic stimulation, a noninvasive procedure in which areas of the brain are stimulated with electromagnetic fields to alter its circuitry, and talks about the unexpected (and sometimes painful) effects of gaining this new ability as an adult.

Read the article and listen to the full interview of John Elder Robison, author of "Switched On: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Awakening," and neurologist Alvaro Pascual-Leone on the April 21, 2016 edition of "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross here:

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/21/475112703/electric-currents-and-an-emotional-awakening-for-one-man-with-autism