Don't Lose Your Head Over tDCS

Recent studies of transcranial electrical stimulation in human cadaver heads showed a 90% loss of current when delivered through the skin (Buzsáki, 2016 CNS meeting).Siren SongBy Margaret AtwoodThis is the one song everyone would like to learn: the songthat is irresistible:the song that forces mento leap overboard in squadronseven though they see the beached skullsthe song nobody knowsbecause anyone who has heard itis dead, and the others can't remember.Better living through electricity. The lure of superior performance, improved memory, and higher IQ without all the hard work. Or at least, in a much shorter amount of time.Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), hailed as a “non-invasive”1 way to alter brain activity,2 has been hot for years. In fact, peak tDCS is already behind us, with a glut of DIY brain stimulation articles in places like Fortune, CBC, Life Hacker, New Statesman, Wall Street Journal, Wired, Slate, Medical Daily, Mosaic, The Economist, Nature, IEEE Spectrum, and The Daily Dot.Simply apply a weak electrical current to your head via a pair of saline soaked sponges connected to a 9 volt battery. Current flows between the positive anode, or stimulating electrode (in blue below), and the negative cathode (in red below). Low levels of electrical stimulation travel through the scalp and skull to a region of cortex underneath the anode. Modeling studies suggest that the electric field generated by tDCS in humans is about 1 mV/mm (Neuling et al.,...
Source: The Neurocritic - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: blogs