It looks like a space-age helmet and it supposedly makes you smarter. What is it? A transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) head-set. It sends electrical currents straight through your skull and into your brain.
According to one manufacturer of a commercial tDCS head-set, Foc.us: it will “overclock your brain.” A risky-sounding proposition, writes Wired’s Christian Jarrett. There may be some merit, however:
To be fair to Foc.us … their claims for the brain-enhancing effects of tDCS are not entirely unfounded. In fact, almost each week there’s a new study claiming that tDCS can boost yet another aspect of mental function. Zapping different parts of the brain has been linked with superior learning of new motor skills; better math skills; better social skills; superior learning and memory; and on the list goes.
But as an enhancement for normal people with healthy brains, tDCS comes with a list of caveats that include unpredictable and unreliable benefits, scalp burns, the potential to induce seizures and unknown long-term effects.
You are, after all, zapping your brain.
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Read the full, complete article: Read This Before Zapping Your Brain
Additional Resources:
- “Can I increase my brain power?,” Guardian
- “Science’s obsession: The search for a ‘smart pill’,” Salon
- “Jump-Starter Kits for the Mind,” New York Times
