"One difference between the 1818 and 1831 editions of the text involves galvanism, or the use of electricity to stimulate nerve impulses. Mary was aware of Galvani's discovery. Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) proposed that electricity flows through nerves. Galvani showed that stimulation of a frog's nerve causes contraction of the muscle to which it is attached (1791). The scientific community was excited by the potential use of this new force and research was conducted throughout Europe on the application of electricity to induce and sustain life. "
(http://www.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/2003/ginn.html)
Galvanism was used in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley to give life to the creature and is also the solid form of science built upon the science fiction within the story. It is only evident that Mary Shelley use this new found experiment, seeing as it was a popular topic back then and very relevant to her story.
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