
DIY Neurostimulation on the rise - Jasamba
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v531/n7592_supp/full/531S6a.html
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valine
Currently neurostimulation is like trying to fix software bugs by applying
arbitrary current to places on your motherboard.

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delecti
In practice it's far more like percussive maintenance on a rattling mechanism.

You're certainly not guaranteed any amount of success, but the right smack on
the right part of the machine might just fix the rattle.

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aidenn0
This is the first time I've heard it called "percussive maintenance." I like
that term.

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mixedCase
You're one of today's lucky 10,000.

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robgering
I am fascinated by brain hacking.

That said, a routine of high-quality sleep, daily exercise, nutritious food,
mindfulness meditation, and limited caffeine use will do far more for the
average person – with substantially less risk.

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debacle
What is limited caffeine? I see/hear this a lot recently, how much caffeine
impacts our sleep cycle. I have 2-3 caffeinated beverages a day (usually 1
dark coffee and 1-2 cups of tea), but wonder if even that limited amount is
impacting my sleep cycle.

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xenihn
I think it depends on your height and bodyweight, tolerance, and how quickly
you metabolize caffeine. You also should be counting total mg of caffeine
ingested.

I metabolize caffeine slowly and have practically no tolerance. A medium-sized
latte anytime after 5 PM will keep me up all night. A decaf equivalent will
make it really hard to fall asleep (remember that decaf still has caffeine).

I think my limit when not ingesting caffeine in the early morning is about
200mg before I have issues with falling asleep.

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hyperpallium
I used to do lot of DIY neurostimulation, until one day I accidentally
stimulated the part of my brain that made lose interest in it.

Intellectually, I know I should just unstimulate that part but meh.

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nkrisc
The search for a magical panacea continues. I'm sure there's some beneficial
discoveries that will come out of this research, but I don't think it's going
to elevate you to a "mystic" state by strapping electrodes to your head.

My guess: at best these "neurohackers" will accomplish nothing other than some
good times socializing with each other (good for them), at worst they'll hurt
themselves.

~~~
gherkin0
Yeah, this tool seems like a pretty blunt instrument at this point. From the
OP:

> It is very difficult to target a specific region of the brain, especially
> with simple home set-ups that use wet sponges as the contact points.

My layman's speculation is that things like cognition have complicated and
fine-granted regulatory systems associated with them, which may have sub-
optimal set-points for many people. To get true "cognitive enhancement" you'd
have to 1) influence these systems in precise targeted ways (i.e. not with a
blunt instrument) and 2) do it in a way that won't trigger counteracting
regulation. Anything less would probably cause side-effects and/or be
temporary with negative withdrawal symptoms.

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nkrisc
Pretty much. I don't want to discount the _potential_ in this field of
research, but I really don't think they're going to achieve much with DIY
transcranial stimulation at this point.

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pussinboots
>Lincoln walks into the neurohacker meeting I am attending in a garage in San
Francisco.

first sentence really paints a picture

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mdomans
I thought that tDCS was already debunked as problematic since it increases
neuroplasticity at the cost of information retention.

So yes, it can be used to accelerate skill learning for skill dependant people
but can be (and is) detrimental for knowledge workers

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jhallenworld
Have they invented the Tasp
([http://larryniven.wikia.com/wiki/Tasp](http://larryniven.wikia.com/wiki/Tasp))
yet?

[http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=235788](http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=235788)

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Jasamba
Giving instant orgasms to disable an enemy? Well played.

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resurge
IIRC it wasn't used as a weapon in the books but more as a drug like heroin.

~~~
gjm11
I'm pretty sure I remember one scene in a Niven book in which someone
weaponizes it. It must be at least twenty years since I read it, so my memory
is extremely hazy, but I vaguely think (1) the viewpoint character, who is
probably Louis Wu, is shocked and offended that anyone would do that; (2) the
weaponized-tasp-wielder might possibly have been a Pierson's puppeteer; (3) it
happens near the start of the book (or story?); (4) the narration of the event
occurs in close proximity to an instance of one of Niven's "there ain't no X"
abbreviations (TANJ, TANSTAAFL).

(Wireheading is also used in a drug-like way; the aforementioned Louis Wu is
an ex-addict.)

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Tossrock
Yeah, it's definitely the puppeteer tasping the kzin

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cryoshon
The article mentions that it's mostly men between the ages of 21 and 30 who
use neurostimulatory devices. I know I've been tempted to try.

Maybe this is silly, but I view this as evidence of societal sickness. Young
men are pushed so hard to be the very best at whatever they do that they are
willing to use unproven, unsafe technology to alter their biology to give them
an edge.

Sure, if you asked them they'd say that they wanted to be smarter for
smartness' sake, but I doubt it's true.

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adambard
Maybe. The other explanation is that men in general and young men in
particular tend to have a higher tolerance for risk, which is reflected in
everything from crime rates to willingness to ride a bicycle in traffic.

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GrumpyNl
I'm waiting for the amateur who just put the clippers of the car battery on
his ears. Yeah, lets simulate my brain a little.

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guyzero
Why do we have any reason to believe that there's any electrical field inside
the brain at all? The skin is reasonably conductive, bone is not. Do we have
any proof that the current doesn't just run along the skin taking the path of
least resistance? The is the one part of transcranial electrical stimulation
that I've never understood - there doesn't seem to be any proof it does what
people say it does.

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maxxxxx
There is deep brain stimulation that plants electrodes deep into the brain to
create a field there. The results are pretty reproducible: Turn on
stimulation, Parkinson patient can walk, turn it off, he can't walk. That at
least is evidence that the brain responds to electrical fields.

~~~
guyzero
Sure, that makes sense bu tit's not the same as simulation applied to the
skin.

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6stringmerc
I was wondering if there would be any sort of discussion regarding pain relief
a la TENs unit approach, which I haven't tried, but it doesn't look to be part
of the article. Chronic lower back pain is such a market I kind of hope more
devices keep getting created to address the issue. In fairness there's still a
lot of barely substantiated / anecdotal evidence with most of the stuff out
there (inversion therapy, TENs) and the one arena that should be helpful
(chiro) but can be conflated with new-age rigmarole.

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Pxtl
Trepanning for the 21st century!

