Overclock your brain power - Brain Hacks
We all have watched those silly movies. And, we all have heard about those silly shock therapy given to mental people. Well, I am almost at the edge of getting one of those. Do you know how shock therapy work? It makes current flow through your brain by connecting the ends(positive and negative terminals) of a DC battery to appropriate position in the brain.
I am a good person and I want to enhance your language and mathematical ability, attention span, problem-solving, memory, and coordination. And for this purpose I am going to give a shock therapy with hundred times less current than a regular one. This is called tDCS - Transcranial direct current stimulation. What happens when you attach several electrodes to your forehead, connect them via wires to a 'nine-volt battery' and 'resistor', ramp up the current and send an electrical charge directly into your brain?
Not everyone using tDCS is seeking to become more efficient in their daily life. Some hope to enhance their concentration for study or video gaming; others want to boost their memory, speed up learning or induce meditative calm. Yet more are trying to self-medicate for conditions such as depression, chronic pain, and motor, sensory or neurological disorders. It can also be used to reduce alcohol, food, and drugs craving. It can improve your emotional state and increase your social skills. The benefits might sound implausible, but there is some science to support them.
Do you know what the coolest part of tDCS is? You can make a tDCS device on your own and at your home. What will you need? A 9 Volt Battery, a resistor, wires, and electrodes(Don't worry! They can be made using a sponge and a salt solution). And it looks somewhat like it.
Side effects of tDCS are uncommon and mild. There may be reddening of the skin under the electrodes. Rarely, a slight, temporary headache can occur during the treatment. There is no injury or harm to the brain with tDCS
The theory behind tDCS is that a weak direct current alters the electric potential of nerve membranes within the brain. Depending on the direction of the current, it is said to make it easier or more difficult for neurons in a brain circuit to fire. Position the electrodes correctly and choose the right current, so the idea goes, and you can boost or suppress all kinds of things. This change of neuronal excitability leads to alteration of brain function, which can be used in various therapies as well as to provide more information about the functioning of the human brain Remarkably, some effects seem to persist for days or even months.
Precisely why tDCS works remains partly mysterious – though it's not enormously surprising that neurons, which transmit information via electrical signals, might do so faster and better with an electrical boost from outside. A great brain say, "What is a thought? A thought is what happens when some pattern of firing of neurons has happened in your brain. So if you have a technology that makes it ever so slightly easier for lots and lots of these neurons… to do their thing, then it doesn't seem so far-fetched that such a technology, be it ever so humble, would have an effect on cognition." Repeat the process enough times, and you'd expect the brain's neural pathways to change, too.
Here are certain links that will surely help you to explore a bit more:
“IT’S like coffee times ten,” raves one enthusiast. “I use it a couple of times a week and problems solve themselves. At the end of the day, I haven’t wasted hours on frivolous websites. At the end of the week, my apartment is clean.” This marvel of productivity is not a new energy drink or an experimental wonder drug but a simple electrical device that he built at home for less than $10. Whenever this physicist feels like an extra burst of motivation, he places electrodes on his skull and sends a jolt of electricity into his brain."
Not everyone using tDCS is seeking to become more efficient in their daily life. Some hope to enhance their concentration for study or video gaming; others want to boost their memory, speed up learning or induce meditative calm. Yet more are trying to self-medicate for conditions such as depression, chronic pain, and motor, sensory or neurological disorders. It can also be used to reduce alcohol, food, and drugs craving. It can improve your emotional state and increase your social skills. The benefits might sound implausible, but there is some science to support them.
Do you know what the coolest part of tDCS is? You can make a tDCS device on your own and at your home. What will you need? A 9 Volt Battery, a resistor, wires, and electrodes(Don't worry! They can be made using a sponge and a salt solution). And it looks somewhat like it.
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| DIY tDCS device. A 9 V battery, electrode/sponge dipped in a salt solution, wire and resistors are all things that would be required to make this magical device. |
Caution
- It's not that easy. You have to make sure the net current in the circuit of tDCS is not more than 2 milliamperes. Use a resistor of high resistance and use a multimeter( a device used to measure current and voltage) to confirm that the current is, in fact, less than 2 milliamperes.
- After you have made the device you must take proper precaution while using it. It is potentially dangerous if you do it wrong.
- There is no strict limitation on the duration of usage, but a simulation time of 20 minutes is considered the ideal time. The longer the stimulation duration, the longer the observed effects of the stimulation persist once the stimulation has ended. A simulation length of 10 minutes results in observed effects lasting for up to an hour.
- It is generally encouraged to wait at least 48 hours to a week before repeating the stimulation. Also, it is advised to warn the person receiving the stimulation of the possible after effects of the tDCS stimulation.
- It is not advised to use this device on people susceptible to seizures, such as people with epilepsy.
Side effects of tDCS are uncommon and mild. There may be reddening of the skin under the electrodes. Rarely, a slight, temporary headache can occur during the treatment. There is no injury or harm to the brain with tDCS
How does the tDCS work?
Precisely why tDCS works remains partly mysterious – though it's not enormously surprising that neurons, which transmit information via electrical signals, might do so faster and better with an electrical boost from outside. A great brain say, "What is a thought? A thought is what happens when some pattern of firing of neurons has happened in your brain. So if you have a technology that makes it ever so slightly easier for lots and lots of these neurons… to do their thing, then it doesn't seem so far-fetched that such a technology, be it ever so humble, would have an effect on cognition." Repeat the process enough times, and you'd expect the brain's neural pathways to change, too.
Here are certain links that will surely help you to explore a bit more:
- An ultimate collection of tDCS Links( must visit )
- tDCS on Wikipedia
- Article about tDCS on The Guardian( I took a lot of help from this)
- Article at Economist
- Last Word on Nothing - Living Better through electrochemistry.
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