
Working memory revived in older adults by synchronizing rhythmic brain circuits - monort
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-019-0371-x
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Paul-ish
This reminds me of a section of the book "Why we sleep"[1] that said similar
techniques could enhance an older persons sleep quality. (I don't know the
title of the study unfortunately.) It looks like this is an exciting area of
research right now.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-
Dreams/dp/1501...](https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-
Dreams/dp/1501144316)

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hosh
Huh, I wonder if there is something similar to be studied with autistic
brains.

(My step-daughter has HFA; difficulty with working memory and executive
functioning is common for HFA females).

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andai
I was wondering if something like this might help with my ADHD... a thinking
cap, if you will :)

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porpoisemonkey
There are already treatments like this.

When I was in high school I started a minor computer repair business. One of
my customers was a treatment service where they would place electrodes on the
head of an individual to measure certain brainwave activity. The electrodes
were connected through a device back to a laptop which was playing a video.

I'm explaining it very imprecisely (I'm an expert by no means) but the way it
worked is that the video would only play when the measured brainwaves met the
pattern(s) established for concentration. The idea being that the person would
want the video to play continuously (without pausing or chopping) so badly
that their brain would train itself to enter into the "concentrating"
brainwave pattern.

I'm not sure what the efficacy of the solution is but the idea was interesting
at the time.

UPDATE: Just looked it up and the term they use for this is "neurofeedback"
training.

Looks like there are significant criticisms to the approach and study of this
treatment so maybe it isn't a viable approach after all.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurofeedback](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurofeedback)

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andai
Neurofeedback isn't quite the same thing as neuro-stimulation. Neurofeedback
just encourages (through positive feedback) the brain to stimulate itself :)

I've been practicing meditation for a few years and it has slowly but steadily
improved my ability to concentrate. (Also worth mentioning that witnessing
emotions as a field of sensation allows them to "dissolve" instead of getting
stuck, and has helped me overcome various addictions and roadblocks.)

Meditation was shown to develop the prefrontal cortex (involved in decision-
making, working memory, inhibition, emotional regulation..), which is (are)
underdeveloped in people with ADHD.

I'm wondering how this kind of independent, willpower based practice compares
with the constant external feedback of neurofeedback training, seeing as one
of the main deficits in ADHD is self-motivation. My guess is that a
combination might be most effective: train the concentrated state itself to
make it more accessible, and then train the will (habit) to access it.

Or put another way, make use of both internal and external technology :)

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zwieback
Seems amazing that currents < 2mA at frequencies in the low Hz do anything.
That's practically DC, I guess the trick is all in synching the signals to
what's going on in your head.

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toomuchtodo
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_direct-
current_st...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_direct-
current_stimulation)

~~~
arthurcolle
I really recommend Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Neurochronometrics of
Mind (A Bradford Book) by Vincent Walsh for anyone who wants a really concise
view of one aspect of the field. I was super interested in this when I was in
my first few years of college but the fear of electrocution pretty much
dissuaded me from trying anything like building an apparatus myself.

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copperx
Isn't there a commercial device built with safety mechanisms to do this?

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oceanghost
I'm struggling to remember the name, but there was a company that sold a TDCS
machine marketed as a game performance enhancement device. It only did one
montage and was ridiculously unsafe. It used to leave red marks under the
sponges on my forehead. Eventually, the app that controlled it aged out of the
app store.

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okigan
[http://www.natap.org/2019/HIV/s41593.pdf](http://www.natap.org/2019/HIV/s41593.pdf)

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thrrr
full text is available at RG
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332281661_Working_m...](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332281661_Working_memory_revived_in_older_adults_by_synchronizing_rhythmic_brain_circuits)

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caseymarquis
Considering the time the treatment takes, I'd be curious to compare the
results to 25 minutes a day doing something else which syncs up the brain.
Playing an instrument (if physically capable) or meditation.

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nisten
Say wooot?

Since I can't read the paywalled article I'm wondering how exactly do you
apply "noninvasive stimulation" on these frequencies. Was it audio, electrodes
on a shaved head, combination of drugs, did this work in rats first etc..

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chilukrn
I don't think we can call electrodes on (in?) a shaved head 'non-invasive'...

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chefandy
Well, since I don't consider getting a haircut or shaving to be a surgical
procedure, I'd disagree.

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throwawaymanbot
Like this?
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3581515/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3581515/)

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fao_
You have a long list of good comments, so it's worth telling you that you were
shadow banned at least 6 months ago... I just vouched for this comment and I
have showdead enabled.

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iron0013
Yikes, he was shadowbanned in August of 2017 after creating the account in
June 2017 and has been commenting into the void ever since!

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modzu
lol! out of curiosity, how can u tell when their account was banned?

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cabaalis
In your profile, enable showdead. The history goes back a way.

Seeing all those unaddressed, never-seen comments causes me some personal
existential self-examining on the value (or rather, potential non-value) of my
own thoughts :)

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etaioinshrdlu
So why can I see his comment then? if he's shadowbanned? because you
commented?

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fao_
Because I vouched for it

