Inside the Strange New World of DIY Brain Stimulation | Magazine | WIRED

Nicely done! Brent Williams in Wired magazine.

Williams is one of its leaders. The treatments have made a huge difference in his life, he says. He retains more information from the tedious journal articles he has to read for work, and he feels more creative. On his blog, SpeakWisdom, he posts technically detailed reviews of stimulation devices and cheerfully gives advice to anyone considering trying it for the first time. He’s got lots of company. A subreddit devoted to the practice has nearly 4,000 subscribers who actively follow the scientific research and share tips on where to place the electrodes on your head if, say, you’re depressed, too impulsive, or just want to amp up your creativity.

Williams is spreading the brain-zapping idea closer to home too. He has built brain stimulators for his wife (he couldn’t keep the secret very long) and several friends and acquaintances. All in all, he has persuaded at least a dozen people to give it a try. One says she’s gone off antidepressants for the first time in 20 years. Another says brain stimulation is helping him get his ADD under control. Several ambitious middle-­aged professionals say the devices have boosted their memory and focus.

via Inside the Strange New World of DIY Brain Stimulation | Magazine | WIRED.

The Unfinished Science Behind the New Wave of Electrical Brain Stimulation | Science | WIRED

Just as the scientists are taking stock of what they do and don’t know about tDCS and refining their experiments, the DIY community seems to be enthusiastically forging ahead. Driven by frustration with pills that don’t adequately manage their depression or chronic pain, or by the desire to be sharper and more focused, ordinary people taking the science out of the lab and into their lives.

They’re able to do it, in part, because the scientific literature is becoming more accessible than ever, and online forums like blogs and reddit are providing new ways for likeminded people to find each other and share information. It helps that a tDCS device is relatively cheap and easy to purchase or assemble.

via The Unfinished Science Behind the New Wave of Electrical Brain Stimulation | Science | WIRED.