Do DIY Brain-Booster Devices Work? | Scientific America

Excellent article traces the rise in tDCS interest. Includes many of the key players and links to important research papers. Do DIY Brain-Booster Devices Work?

Would you let someone zap your brain? Why ‘electronic brain stimulation’ is trending | LA Times

Despite thousands of studies, there remain many mysteries. Most studies involve extremely short experiments with few participants, and they often assess results after just a single session, using very specific tasks. That means results are not generally applicable to real-life situations or to all people. And nobody knows what the consequences might be of frequent use for long periods of time, which is how many people would like to use tDCS.

There is plenty of optimism that tDCS will eventually have real, even transformative applications. But that time does has not come. “At the moment, I don’t know about any protocol or device for which we could really say you could use for gaming or everyday tasks and it would improve performance and there would be no risks with it,” Nitsche says. “My advice would be to be cautious.”

Would you let someone zap your brain? Why ‘electronic brain stimulation’ is trending

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.

Summit on Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation UC-Davis Sept. 5, 2013 Videos

The ‘current’ state of the art! Thanks UC Davis for sharing! http://www.youtube.com/user/UCDavis

Dr. Marom Bikson, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The City College of The City University of New York, discussing the cellular mechanisms of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) at the Summit on Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) at the UC-Davis Center for Mind & Brain.


Dr. Vince Clark, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of New Mexico, speaking on the role of tDCS in cognitive enhancement in a talk at the Summit on Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) at the UC-Davis Center for Mind & Brain.


In this talk at the Summit on Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) at the UC-Davis Center for Mind & Brain, Dr. Roy Hamilton, Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses a range of clinical applications of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) technique.


Dr. Michael Nitsche, a pioneer in the field of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) from the University of Goettingen in Germany, speaking about the physiological basis of tDCS at the Summit on Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) at the UC-Davis Center for Mind & Brain.


Dr. Dylan Edwards of the Burke Medical Research Institute, speaking on the role of tDCS and robotics in human motor recovery in a talk at the Summit on Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) at the UC-Davis Center for Mind & Brain.


Dr. Vincent Walsh of University College London, discussing the current evidence for and against the role of transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) in improving cognition at the Summit on Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) at the UC-Davis Center for Mind & Brain.