Brain electrical stimulation improves mental capacity, creativity and memory of healthy people.
The tDCS technology — transcranial stimulation with direct current — has been studied for more than 20 years and has been used successfully in the clinic to recover from a stroke, to treat depression and chronic pain. However, studies of the last 6-7 years show that it can be useful for healthy people. An article by Douglas Fox , published in 2011 in the leading scientific journal Nature, told the general public for the first time that tDCS can improve learning, memory, and reduce the propensity of healthy people to take risks. Since then, the number of tDCS studies has been steadily increasing, revealing all new applications of this technology.
Creativity and solving non-trivial tasks
For example, a few months ago, scientists from Georgetown University, Washington, published a study showing that tDCS improves creative thinking. The participants in the experiment — healthy young people with a similar education and level of intelligence — were to find associative connections between different sets of words. And those of them who were electrostimulated, found much more non-trivial analogies.
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The ability of tDCS to increase creativity has been studied for over 5 years. In 2012, a group of Australian scientists from the University of Sydney discovered that tDCS helps solve complex, previously unsolvable problems. We used the test, with which most people are not able to cope: connect 9 points with 4 lines without lifting their hands. None of the participants managed to solve the task before stimulation, however tDCS led to the fact that 40% (!) Of the subjects were able to find the correct answer.
Research is also being conducted on the effect of tDCS on the ability to solve mathematical problems. In 2010, researchers from the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute of London conducted an experiment in which healthy volunteers performed mathematical operations with fictional characters that denoted numbers from 1 to 9. It turned out that tDCS contributed to the more rapid memorization of new characters and led to better results in solving problems, and the effect of stimulation persisted for half a year.
How does tDCS work?
The mechanism underlying the tDCS action is quite simple. Electrodes are applied to the head, through which a weak current of constant force (1-2 milliamperes) passes, affecting certain parts of the brain. The strength of the current is too low to activate the neurons. However, it still significantly changes their physiological state, making them more or, conversely, less prone to activation, depending on the type of exposure.
The ability of neurons to be activated depends on the potential difference across their membrane; that is what tDCS changes. In the case of a positive charge on the electrode (“anode”), the potential difference decreases, which increases the probability of a neuron being excited in the event of an external signal. In the case of a negative electrode charge (“cathode”), the excitability of neurons, on the contrary, decreases.
In order to obtain the desired effect (for example, to increase the ability of mathematics or the speed of reaction), it is necessary to choose the right brain areas and place electrodes with the appropriate charge on them. The applications of tDCS are very diverse, and, in fact, are limited only by knowledge of the functions of different areas of the brain.
Learning and memory
In 2010, a research team from New Mexico conducted a loud study , which showed that tDCS accelerates the training of “DARWARS Ambush!” - a video game designed specifically to train American soldiers. People explore virtual landscapes for obstacles - shadow cast by a sniper or an improvised explosive device, and should respond to them as quickly as possible. It turned out that the volunteers who were affected by the tDCS during training showed better results. tDCS is also mentioned in another study by the US Military. In 2011, it was reported that electrical stimulation successfully improves the learning ability of American pilots undergoing training on video simulators.
More than 10 studies show that tDCS increases the efficiency of learning foreign languages. For the "purity" of the experiment, volunteers studied fictional languages. It turned out that after tDCS, they better memorized new words, and their speech became more fluent.
Addictions
Another interesting possibility of electrostimulation is to reduce dependencies, for example, on tasty food. In a study by German scientists led by Kerstin Altmans, a group of healthy volunteers held tDCS sessions daily for a week and watched how the amount of calories they consumed would change. To do this, they were misled about the essence of the experiment - the subjects thought that the effect of tDCS on their mood was being studied. But before and after the test, a table was laid for them, ostensibly to thank them for participating. However, the number of calories consumed was strictly followed, and it turned out that after a week of stimulation, it decreased by as much as 14%. According to researchers, it happened not so much because of reduced appetite, but because of the development of willpower and the adoption of more rational decisions. It is therefore not surprising that tDCS also helps with other addictions - from nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, and even cocaine.
Depression
tDCS has also been used successfully to treat depression . Moreover, electrostimulation is effective even in the case of severe forms - acute and resistant. The mechanism by which tDCS fights depression appears to have a lot in common with the effects of antidepressants. As a result, tDCS stimulates the production of "hormones of happiness" - endorphin and serotonin. However, unlike antidepressants, tDCS is not accompanied by side effects such as nausea and insomnia.
Empathy, risk and safe driving
It is impossible to describe all the effects of tDCS in the framework of this article - they are so numerous and varied. Therefore, let's talk finally about the most unexpected. For example, electrical stimulation improves the social skills of people - enhances empathy and the ability to put oneself in the place of others. In one study, healthy volunteers played a game where they had to move the thing about which the virtual character requested them from the screen. However, he saw the room from a different angle than the person in front of the screen (for example, he observed only part of the cabinet), and this had to be taken into account when performing the task. For example, when he asked to rearrange the largest candle, the player had to choose the largest candle that the character could see. It turned out that after tDCS, the correctness of the task was increased by 33%.
In another paper, tDCS made subjects less vindictive. Volunteers took part in the famous game "Ultimatum". Its essence lies in the fact that one of the participants must divide $ 10 between himself and the second participant, and the second participant, having received the money, must decide whether he will take it or not. In case of his refusal, no one gets any money, and if he agrees, he receives the proposed share. It is known that a lot of people refuse money if they think that they are too few, because they see this as an injustice and want to punish the first participant. However, after tDCS, people are much more likely to agree with a smaller amount.
Studies have been conducted in which tDCS reduces people's risk appetite and contributes to a safer driving style, increases the awareness of the current moment, and contribute to greater immersion in the worlds of virtual reality . There are some exotic works that tDCS reduces tinnitus , clears the mind of false memories and expands the frequency spectrum of the perceived sound.
Electrostimulation of the brain: is there a danger?
In the process of electrical stimulation, the brain is affected by a current of very weak force — only 1-2 milliamperes. This is about the same as the firefly spends in order to glow. And in principle, the procedure is quite safe. There are no serious side effects associated with it (and more than 12,500 scientific articles have already been published on the topic) - sometimes only itching in the skin in the electrode attachment area, tingling, burning and discomfort, in rare cases - headache. However, there is a risk that the improvement of some brain functions will lead to the deterioration of others. For example, in one of Cohen Kadosh ’s studies, brain stimulation helped subjects to memorize a system of symbols with numerical matches (for example, chicken = 1, egg = 5), but it was more difficult for them to use their knowledge in a different task, as compared to subjects who remembered everything without stimulation.
In addition, it must be borne in mind that the effect of tDCS strongly depends on the stimulated area of the brain and the task that the brain must perform. In the case of an incorrectly chosen area of the brain and the type of exposure (polarity of the electrodes), the effect may well become negative.
Startups
After a surge in research on tDCS, start-ups began to appear in America, creating electrical stimulators for healthy people. The first of these was “ foc.us ”, which initially offered devices to gamers, but then included them in the target audience and people involved in sports. Then came the startups " Apex " and " PriorMind ". There are reports that another American startup “ Thync ” attracted $ 13 million to develop its device. There are such startups in Russia, for example, Brainstorm .
Creativity and solving non-trivial tasks
For example, a few months ago, scientists from Georgetown University, Washington, published a study showing that tDCS improves creative thinking. The participants in the experiment — healthy young people with a similar education and level of intelligence — were to find associative connections between different sets of words. And those of them who were electrostimulated, found much more non-trivial analogies.
')
The ability of tDCS to increase creativity has been studied for over 5 years. In 2012, a group of Australian scientists from the University of Sydney discovered that tDCS helps solve complex, previously unsolvable problems. We used the test, with which most people are not able to cope: connect 9 points with 4 lines without lifting their hands. None of the participants managed to solve the task before stimulation, however tDCS led to the fact that 40% (!) Of the subjects were able to find the correct answer.
Research is also being conducted on the effect of tDCS on the ability to solve mathematical problems. In 2010, researchers from the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute of London conducted an experiment in which healthy volunteers performed mathematical operations with fictional characters that denoted numbers from 1 to 9. It turned out that tDCS contributed to the more rapid memorization of new characters and led to better results in solving problems, and the effect of stimulation persisted for half a year.
How does tDCS work?
The mechanism underlying the tDCS action is quite simple. Electrodes are applied to the head, through which a weak current of constant force (1-2 milliamperes) passes, affecting certain parts of the brain. The strength of the current is too low to activate the neurons. However, it still significantly changes their physiological state, making them more or, conversely, less prone to activation, depending on the type of exposure.
The ability of neurons to be activated depends on the potential difference across their membrane; that is what tDCS changes. In the case of a positive charge on the electrode (“anode”), the potential difference decreases, which increases the probability of a neuron being excited in the event of an external signal. In the case of a negative electrode charge (“cathode”), the excitability of neurons, on the contrary, decreases.
In order to obtain the desired effect (for example, to increase the ability of mathematics or the speed of reaction), it is necessary to choose the right brain areas and place electrodes with the appropriate charge on them. The applications of tDCS are very diverse, and, in fact, are limited only by knowledge of the functions of different areas of the brain.
Learning and memory
In 2010, a research team from New Mexico conducted a loud study , which showed that tDCS accelerates the training of “DARWARS Ambush!” - a video game designed specifically to train American soldiers. People explore virtual landscapes for obstacles - shadow cast by a sniper or an improvised explosive device, and should respond to them as quickly as possible. It turned out that the volunteers who were affected by the tDCS during training showed better results. tDCS is also mentioned in another study by the US Military. In 2011, it was reported that electrical stimulation successfully improves the learning ability of American pilots undergoing training on video simulators.
More than 10 studies show that tDCS increases the efficiency of learning foreign languages. For the "purity" of the experiment, volunteers studied fictional languages. It turned out that after tDCS, they better memorized new words, and their speech became more fluent.
Addictions
Another interesting possibility of electrostimulation is to reduce dependencies, for example, on tasty food. In a study by German scientists led by Kerstin Altmans, a group of healthy volunteers held tDCS sessions daily for a week and watched how the amount of calories they consumed would change. To do this, they were misled about the essence of the experiment - the subjects thought that the effect of tDCS on their mood was being studied. But before and after the test, a table was laid for them, ostensibly to thank them for participating. However, the number of calories consumed was strictly followed, and it turned out that after a week of stimulation, it decreased by as much as 14%. According to researchers, it happened not so much because of reduced appetite, but because of the development of willpower and the adoption of more rational decisions. It is therefore not surprising that tDCS also helps with other addictions - from nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, and even cocaine.
Depression
tDCS has also been used successfully to treat depression . Moreover, electrostimulation is effective even in the case of severe forms - acute and resistant. The mechanism by which tDCS fights depression appears to have a lot in common with the effects of antidepressants. As a result, tDCS stimulates the production of "hormones of happiness" - endorphin and serotonin. However, unlike antidepressants, tDCS is not accompanied by side effects such as nausea and insomnia.
Empathy, risk and safe driving
It is impossible to describe all the effects of tDCS in the framework of this article - they are so numerous and varied. Therefore, let's talk finally about the most unexpected. For example, electrical stimulation improves the social skills of people - enhances empathy and the ability to put oneself in the place of others. In one study, healthy volunteers played a game where they had to move the thing about which the virtual character requested them from the screen. However, he saw the room from a different angle than the person in front of the screen (for example, he observed only part of the cabinet), and this had to be taken into account when performing the task. For example, when he asked to rearrange the largest candle, the player had to choose the largest candle that the character could see. It turned out that after tDCS, the correctness of the task was increased by 33%.
In another paper, tDCS made subjects less vindictive. Volunteers took part in the famous game "Ultimatum". Its essence lies in the fact that one of the participants must divide $ 10 between himself and the second participant, and the second participant, having received the money, must decide whether he will take it or not. In case of his refusal, no one gets any money, and if he agrees, he receives the proposed share. It is known that a lot of people refuse money if they think that they are too few, because they see this as an injustice and want to punish the first participant. However, after tDCS, people are much more likely to agree with a smaller amount.
Studies have been conducted in which tDCS reduces people's risk appetite and contributes to a safer driving style, increases the awareness of the current moment, and contribute to greater immersion in the worlds of virtual reality . There are some exotic works that tDCS reduces tinnitus , clears the mind of false memories and expands the frequency spectrum of the perceived sound.
Electrostimulation of the brain: is there a danger?
In the process of electrical stimulation, the brain is affected by a current of very weak force — only 1-2 milliamperes. This is about the same as the firefly spends in order to glow. And in principle, the procedure is quite safe. There are no serious side effects associated with it (and more than 12,500 scientific articles have already been published on the topic) - sometimes only itching in the skin in the electrode attachment area, tingling, burning and discomfort, in rare cases - headache. However, there is a risk that the improvement of some brain functions will lead to the deterioration of others. For example, in one of Cohen Kadosh ’s studies, brain stimulation helped subjects to memorize a system of symbols with numerical matches (for example, chicken = 1, egg = 5), but it was more difficult for them to use their knowledge in a different task, as compared to subjects who remembered everything without stimulation.
In addition, it must be borne in mind that the effect of tDCS strongly depends on the stimulated area of the brain and the task that the brain must perform. In the case of an incorrectly chosen area of the brain and the type of exposure (polarity of the electrodes), the effect may well become negative.
Startups
After a surge in research on tDCS, start-ups began to appear in America, creating electrical stimulators for healthy people. The first of these was “ foc.us ”, which initially offered devices to gamers, but then included them in the target audience and people involved in sports. Then came the startups " Apex " and " PriorMind ". There are reports that another American startup “ Thync ” attracted $ 13 million to develop its device. There are such startups in Russia, for example, Brainstorm .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/394415/
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