tDCS applies a tiny current (a few volts @ 2mA) to your brain via two electrodes attached to your scalp. Depending on where the electrodes are placed, the current flows through a specific region of your brain, making the neurons more sensitive (i.e. faster-reacting) and increasing their plasticity (better at learning). It really is as simple as it sounds, and you can build your own tDCS equipment very easily. We obviously can’t vouch for its safety, but negative side effects seem to be surprisingly rare.
tDCS has a bigger, scarier cousin called deep brain stimulation (DBS). Whereas anyone can build a tDCS “thinking cap,” DBS requires the implantation of electrodes within your brain by a very skilled neurosurgeon. These wires then connect to a “brain pacemaker,” a which is usually installed under your skin in the chest area. Depending on which region of the brain the electrodes are placed, DBS has proven to be very effective at treating various conditions, such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s, and chronic pain. DBS is also being tested as a treatment for major depression, and other affective disorders.
“If you are in the brain already, you might as well take advantage of the fact that you can listen in,” Lothar Krinke, manager of Medtronic’s DBS division, tells Technology Review. Currently, these DBS systems deliver constant stimulation — even if it isn’t needed. With this new system, which measures brain activity, the brain pacemaker will only stimulate the brain when it’s needed — Parkinson’s suffers, for example, can have symptoms that vary dramatically day to day. This new system will also allow the DBS implant to increase the dosage if the patient’s symptoms deteriorate, or turn off entirely at night when stimulation isn’t required.
Ultimately, Medtronic’s new DBS implant will also act as a fantastic diagnostic tool. Medtronic’s researchers will be in the unique position to analyze the brain signals of thousands of patients — which will then feed back into a better understanding of human neurology, and thus even more novel medical solutions. Eventually, we might be able to construct “brain maps” for every brain malady, showing exactly which parts of the brain cause each disorder and disease. The gains for medicine in general, and diagnosticians in specific, would be massive.And then, of course, there are the non-medicinal uses of DBS, which no one is yet to touch upon. If tDCS can halve the time it takes to learn a complex task, I can only imagine the kind of super powers that a correctly-configured DBS system might yield. We are still at the point where we only talk about bionic eyes and prosthetic limbs and DBS as medical procedures — not elective procedures, such as cosmetic surgery. If I can install devices that gives me super-human strength or cranial capacity, why shouldn’t I?
Now read: A bionic prosthetic eye that speaks the language of your brain
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