Summary of John Elder Robison's Switched On, describes the emotional awakening John underwent after his experience with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a highly experimental procedure that zaps the brain with electricity. Much of his story focuses on a life-changing study he joined in 2008. John details the neuroscience he learned and provides a thorough analysis of the positive and negative effects that TMS has had on his life and, to a lesser degree, the lives of his fellow participants, all of whom had autism.

Having written several other memoirs about his family life, John acknowledges that he had a difficult childhood without delving into great detail. He always understood that he was different, but his official diagnosis did not come until he was the age of 40. Switched On, in part, revisits his childhood and young adulthood...