

Electric brain boosting - cr4zy
http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2010/101104.html

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jxcole
I recall a while back there were advertisements for a device that could
stimulate your muscles directly, making them stronger without you even having
to go to the gym. However, it was discovered not to long after their release
that usage over a long term caused the nerves in the area to atrophy. People
were completely losing the ability to contract their muscles normally; the
muscles would only contract when under the influence of the device. I am not a
physician, but I would be very cautious about using a device like this unless
it were proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, I remember seeing advertisements for these
devices in middle school and they suddenly stopped. I asked someone (probably
another student) what happened, and they told me about the nervous atrophy
thing. So there's a good chance it's made up, sorry for not checking my
sources first.

~~~
bri3d
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_muscle_stimulation> seems to indicate
that this is both a relatively common practice and generally regarded as not
very dangerous.

While Wikipedia is, of course, neither a primary source nor entirely reliable,
I've also been unable to find any references to nervous atrophy in the
literature or via a cursory Googling, so any links that could be provided
would be _awesome_.

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cr4zy
As mindcrime pointed out, a previous discussion of this is here:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3525744>

Highlights:

Video how to: [http://www.jove.com/video/2744/electrode-positioning-and-
mon...](http://www.jove.com/video/2744/electrode-positioning-and-montage-in-
transcranial-direct-current-stimulation)

Buy: <http://soterixmedical.com/tdcs.php>

Hack: <http://brmlab.cz/project/brain_hacking/tdcs>

~~~
Natsu
This is the first time I've ever seen a device advertized as having a "sham
feature."

~~~
phren0logy
Clearly, you need to shop for more research-oriented neuromodulation devices.

edit: Did not intent to come off as snarky. Really, you actually should buy
more neuromodulation devices that are research-oriented. Because they are
cool. Seriously though, this is uncharted water. Be very careful. As a
physician, I can't recommend actually sticking this on your head (yet).

~~~
Natsu
I figured out that it was meant to allow researchers to use it on the control
group. I just thought that was a rather strange way to advertise the feature.

edit: No worries, I had a good laugh.

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slig
Someone should really do a kickstarter project. I'm sure it'd be funded.

~~~
gwern
And a tad dangerous. Just to point out the obvious from the article, even with
no malfunctions and perfect equipment, reversing the direction made the
subjects significantly stupider on the task.

~~~
bri3d
Supposedly, the reversed direction both only inhibited the learning of the
task while the reversed current was applied (and didn't make the subjects
generically less apt) and "Previous work by the team showed that a similar
induced impairment effect was short-lived."

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chegra84
This might be of some interest:

Savant-like numerosity skills revealed in normal people by magnetic pulses

[http://www.centreforthemind.com/publications/SavantNumerosit...](http://www.centreforthemind.com/publications/SavantNumerosity.pdf)

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itmag
The only thing I want to know: how can I get myself one of these?

How hard is it to build one of these things? Is it safe to use them? Cost?

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darien
Just think about how much easier it will be for high income parents to get
their kids into Ivys by boosting their SAT math skills using this technology.
Unethical?

~~~
burke
No more unethical than private tutoring, in my opinion.

People understandably like to draw parallels between mental enhancement and
physical enhancement in the context of sports. The difference is that sports
are a purposefully-created level playing field, where any sort of enhancement
creates an unfair advantage, eliminating the point of the game.

In the real world, there's no intentionally level playing field for
entertainment's sake. It's up to everyone to get ahead as best they can.
Nobody would complain if their mover were using steroids.

~~~
darien
My main concern is the use of technology as a crutch for self improvement. I
can appreciate the use of thought enhancing technology coupled with a strong
will and determination to accomplish a certain goal - for I think that is a
human ideal. But the moment I reconsider is when technology becomes the symbol
for self improvement instead of a means to an end. We see this with diabetics
who take insulin but never change their eating habits, people who purchase gym
memberships but never attend, people who buy books but don't read them, or
people who ride a helicopter up to the summit of Mount Everest, etc. Sometimes
technology demeans the human experience and the significance of
accomplishment... and I think people who struggle regularly feel cheated by
advantages that are afforded to people who have privileged access to things of
all measure.

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aneth
Any evolutionary biologist have theories on why our brains would be so
underutilized? I wonder if there is a disadvantage to certain kinds of
intelligence. Perhaps society works best when there is a variety of levels of
intelligence, so there are larger numbers who are easier to lead and satisfied
with less grandiose work. Maybe it has more to do with conserving energy or
avoiding conflict?

~~~
Symmetry
Well, our brains already use up 10 Watts, about 1/10 of our total resting
energy budget, so I could certainly see that being a limiting factor.

~~~
itmag
So cranking up the caloric drain of the brain should burn more body fat,
right?

I can already see the TV-Shop infomercials... :p

~~~
dj_axl
I can't find the specific article I was looking for, maybe it's more urban
legend than fact, but supposedly chess players burn just as many calories per
hour as athletes. In the top results on google you'll find comparisons of
chess players to football players, and chess grand masters to olympic swimmer
Michael Phelps. Somewhere in here is material for an infomercial sure... play
our specially designed MMORPG and the calories will magically melt away!

