{"id":10247,"date":"2017-01-07T06:01:06","date_gmt":"2017-01-07T14:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/students-zap-their-brains-for-a-boost-for-better-or-worse\/"},"modified":"2017-01-07T06:01:06","modified_gmt":"2017-01-07T14:01:06","slug":"students-zap-their-brains-for-a-boost-for-better-or-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/students-zap-their-brains-for-a-boost-for-better-or-worse\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Zap Their Brains For a Boost, For Better Or Worse"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Riley Beggin<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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Matt Herich uses a tDCS device that was made by another student he met on Reddit. Four 9-volt batteries and sticky self-adhesive electrodes are connected by a circuit board that sends a constant small current to the user’s brain. Courtesy of Matt Herich<\/strong> hide caption<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Courtesy of Matt Herich<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Last October, Matt Herich was listening to the news while he drove door to door delivering pizzas. A story came on the radio about a technology that sends an electric current through your brain to possibly make you better at some things \u2014 moving, remembering, learning. He was fascinated.<\/p>\n

The neurotechnology is called transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS for short. At its simplest, the method involves a device that uses little more than a 9-volt battery and some electrodes to send a low-intensity electrical current to a targeted area of the brain, typically via a headset<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More than a 1,000 studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals over the last decade suggesting benefits of the technique \u2014 maybe regulating mood<\/a>, possibly improving language skills<\/a> \u2014 but its effects, good or<\/em> bad, are far from clear.<\/p>\n

Although researchers see possibilities for tDCS in treating diseases and boosting performance, it’s still an exploratory technology, says Mark George, editor-in-chief of Brain Stimulation<\/em>, a leading journal on neuromodulation. And leading experts have warned against at-home use<\/a> of such devices.<\/p>\n

“If we can figure out safe long-term applications, it’s so inexpensive we might be able to use it to boost tons of things,” says George, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. “But I have to underline might<\/em> \u2014 we don’t know yet.”<\/p>\n

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A user wears a tDCS device sold by an online retailer, Caputron. Courtesy of Robin Azzam<\/strong> hide caption<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Courtesy of Robin Azzam<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

When Herich finished his shift delivering pizzas, he raced home and began googling. He found a thriving community on Reddit<\/a> and other online forums dedicated to discussing ways to self-administer tDCS.<\/p>\n

After reading some scientific studies on neurostimulation, Herich decided to give it a try. He eventually got his hands on a rudimentary tDCS device made by a student at Northern Arizona University.<\/p>\n

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