NYC Neuromodulation 2017 Conference January 13-15

That’s next weekend! Should be an exciting event. Check out the Abstracts submitted by presenters! Things like…

E-meditation: A novel paradigm using tDCS to enhance mindfulness meditation
tDCS metaplasticity and astrocytic calcium in mice
Individual Differences in tDCS Augmented Working Memory Training
Distracted driving and high-definition tDCS
Emotion perception improvement following high frequency transcranial random noise of the inferior frontal cortex
Adaptive tDCS controller for increasing dose to 4 mA
Dry electrodes for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
Seeking a Superman’s brain: HD-tDCS of brain networks in exercise performance
Investigating Possible Mechanisms of Action of Transcranial Electric Stimulation in Parkinson’s Disease

 

FDA Public Workshop – Neurodiagnostics and Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Medical Devices Workshop, November 19-20, 2015

http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/NewsEvents/WorkshopsConferences/ucm458018.htm

The focus of the second day of the workshop will be non-invasive brain stimulation medical devices, which are medical devices that are intended to improve, affect, or otherwise modify the cognitive function of a normal individual (i.e., without a treatment objective) by means of non-invasive electrical or electromagnetic stimulation to the head. The purpose of this workshop is to obtain public input and feedback on scientific, clinical, and regulatory considerations associated with medical devices for assessing and influencing cognitive function.

Society For Neuroscience 2015 Chicago October 17-21

sfn15An overwhelming amount of tDCS-related information is about to descend upon us.

Neuroscience 2015 will take place October 17-21 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Join more than 30,000 colleagues from more than 80 countries at the world’s largest marketplace of ideas and tools for global neuroscience.

Here’s a small sample of some of the tDCS-related presentations/abstracts that caught my eye. (Unfortunately I can’t link to my search results so I also scraped the page so you can see for yourself here.)

Hawaii BrainSTIM Meeting 2015 Videos

Revisiting this post from a few months ago because as I slowly wade through these state-of-the-art brain stimulation presentations from the leading scientists in the field, I’m discovering a lot of new information that is not generally known or being discussed. For example, in this talk ‘BrainSTIM2015 – Physiology and functional effects of tDCS and related techniques’, Michael Nitsche explores why 1mA may be a better dosage choice and also how a second session of tDCS 30 minutes after the first may lead to increased plasticity effects.

Vince Clark has just published video presentations from the recent BrainSTIM conference.
This is a real treasure trove of state-of-the-art tDCS and brain stimulation information.
Presenters: Vince Clark, Giulio Ruffini, Marom Bikson, Peter Bandettini, Michael Nitsche, Katie Witkiewitz, Peter Fox, Luke Torre-Healy, Erika Ross, Mayank Jog, Abbas Babajani-Feremi, Alexander Opitz, Mark Lowe, Hiroyuki Oya, Felipe Salinas, Shalini Narayana, Branislava Curcic-Blake, Franca Tecchio, Yuranny Cabral-Calderin.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJXWh-KAWQdAYXZAMeH4SCg

Brain Stimulation and Imaging Meeting June 12-13 2015

Some very interesting abstracts coming out around the upcoming BrainStim conference.

Dr. Giulio Ruffini, “Transcranial Current Stimulation: Going Multifocal”
“…I will describe a new class of devices using multi electrode montages and small, EEG-compatible electrodes, complemented by advanced biophysical models.”

Dr. Marom Bikson, “Targeting transcranial Electrical Stimulation using EEG: The scalp space approach”
“…Next, how to optimize tES based on either evoked or spontaneous EEG recording is discussed including a novel “scalp space” approach which requires no source localization and no computational modeling.”

I see also that the The Neuroelectrics Team will be demonstrating their “latest wireless EEG (Enobio) and tCS (StarStim) technology as well as our latest StarStim Research Home Kit.

Spark of Genius? Awakening a Better Brain | World Science Festival

tDCSworldScienceFestival

Video: http://livestream.com/WorldScienceFestival/events/4063286/videos/88471585
Source: http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/programs/spark-genius-electrical-stimulation-brain/

OPENING CREATED BY: Blanca Li
DATE: Wednesday, May 27, 2015
TIME: 8:00 PM-9:30 PM
VENUE: NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
How far would you go to improve your focus, memory, or even learning ability? Would you be willing to strap on headgear that delivers electrical shocks to targeted areas of your brain? You may soon have that option. It’s called transcranial direct current stimulation, and while variations of the technique are already known to help depression patients, it’s currently being tested on soldiers, and used by gamers, students, and others looking for a cognitive edge. Does it work? Can carefully directed electrical stimulation improve cognitive function? What are potential long-term effects? And how should it be regulated?

Upcoming Events: Hawaii BrainSTIM 2015

BrainSTIM 2015 will be the first ever meeting focused on the combination of brain imaging and stimulation. The meeting will have keynote lectures by leaders in the fields of imaging and stimulation, talks selected from submitted abstracts, educational sessions on integrated brain stimulation and imaging, poster sessions and other opportunities to network. The meeting is designed to inform and educate all who are interested in these topics, from novices to experts. [Get more info]

Click here to register now
Start: June 12, 2015
End: June 13, 2015
Website: http://www.brainstim2015.org/

via Upcoming Events Hawaii BrainSTIM 2015.

Major Study Finds No tDCS Benefit To Fluid Intelligence Training

Update: Aldis wrote in a comment:

To clarify the takeaway message: we weren’t actually training fluid intelligence. Fluid intelligence has been shown to rely on fundamental cognitive abilities like working memory and attention, and the games were designed to train those underlying abilities. Training on fluid intelligence tasks would be like teaching to the test.

In a talk, “Can HD-tDCS Enhance Cognitive Training”, Aldis Sipolins describes a ‘wildly ambitious’ cognitive training study called the INSIGHT Project. Funded by IARPA, the study combined rigorous exercise and HD-tDCS-enhanced cognitive training in an attempt to increase ‘fluid intelligence’. 518 subjects, half of whom underwent pre and post fMRI scanning, undertook a 16 week course of combined exercise and brain training. The results? Anodal HD-tDCS improved performance on 3 of 6 brain-training video games but had no effect on transfer, i.e. the improvements did not transfer to general intelligence. As a result tDCS will not be a part of the study moving forward.

  • Partnered with Aptima to create a suite of six brain-training games. Games were ‘adaptive’, i.e they increased in difficulty as the subject’s performance improved.
  • Montage used was  2 x 2 (4 electrodes) designed by Soterix to affect DLPFC (dorsalateral prefrontal cortex). Dosage was 2mA for 30 minutes. Training started once current ramped up.
  • BOMAT (bochumer matrices) test was used to determine whether enhanced game performance transferred to fluid intelligence.
  • A future study on the INSIGHT Project will include a Mindfulness meditation segment and include nutritional supplements (brain shake).

In a recent Reddit thread when asked what he’d do differently, Aldis Sipolins said:

1) Include a cathodal group, with the hope that it impairs performance. Vince Clark suggested that impairing performance during cognitive training may have led to greater transfer. Kind of like how strapping weights to your body when you train makes it easier to move once you take them off.

2) Include a tDCS group that doesn’t complete the exercise intervention. It’s possible that exercise masked the effects of tDCS.

I would personally like to thank Aldis Sipolins, Art Kramer, and everyone at the Lifelong Brain and Cognition lab for some excellent science!

 

NEUROMODEC » University of Florida tDCS Workshop 2014

Neuromodec presents

University of Florida: tDCS Workshop 2014

An intensive two-day international meeting dedicated on the design and implementation of tDCS in clinical and research settings. Update on 2014 state-of-the-art methodology with presentations and discussions on the development of professional standards for safety, validity and reproducibility of functional outcomes in tDCS applications.

September 4th & 5th 2014
University of Florida
Clinical Translational Research Building
2004 Mowry Road,
Gainesville, Florida 32610


Workshop Leadership

Adam J. Woods, Ph.D.

tDCS Course Director

Marom Bikson, Ph.D.

tDCS Course Co-Director

Helena Knotkova, Ph.D.

tDCS Course Co-Director

Peter K. Toshev

tDCS Workshop Director

via NEUROMODEC » University of Florida tDCS Workshop 2014.

Brain, interrupted: The promise and perils of brain stimulation | British Science Association

Thursday 11 September 2014
10.30 – 12.00
Lecture Theatre S02, Poynting Physics Building, University of Birmingham

Join us for a cutting edge view of research into brain stimulation and cognitive enhancement. This event will highlight the possibilities and pitfalls in this newly emerging field: Can brain stimulation change our mind? ? Are there physical and psychological risks? Come and find out!

Join us for a cutting-edge view of research into brain stimulation and cognitive enhancement. Discover the possibilities and pitfalls in this newly emerging field: Can it change our mind? How does stimulation interact with behaviour? Can we improve the damaged brain? Are there physical and psychological risks? Join Roi Cohen Kadosh, Gregor Thut, Jacinta O’Shea and Gemma Learmonth to find out.

via Brain, interrupted: The promise and perils of brain stimulation | British Science Association.