Give Your Brain A Boost

jdray writes "This story covers research into increasing cognitive function by passing small currents through the frontal cortex. It won't be long before everyone is wearing little battery-operated headbands to work every day. Maybe the'll be the next great fashion statement in singles bars, where increased cognition would be a welcome change."

Comments

Hmm... I've seen this somewhere before...

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe we should get some battery operated headbands for Slashdot editors to improve their memory and reduce duplicate posts!

Either that or pass a LARGE current across thier balls each time they post a story without dupe checking ;)

Re:Hmm... I've seen this somewhere before...

[Geoffreyerffoeg]

Yeah, I first realized it was a dupe when the article link appeared in the black visited-links color.

ummm

[over_exposed]

Dupe?

Re:ummm

[Lord Prox]

...and in other news, excessive or long term use of the BrainBoost(r) brand memory jogger has been linked to tumors in the frontal cortex and dementia.

Apropos brain boost

[MarkGriz]

Here's a brain boost we could really all use.

"trying this at home"

[araven]

If there's one thing about geeks, it's the need to try stuff that sounds like fun. Now running current through my head doesn't sound like fun to ME, but I'm guessing there'll be a few slashdotters for whom that would be just an evening's entertainment.

I trust that the authorities won't link the seemingly-coincidental scattering of accidental self-electrocutions and emergency room visits for forehead burns to overzealous /. reading.

~

Re:"trying this at home"

[anonymous cowherd (m]

I wonder if this would work better while wearing a tinfoil hat...

Yeah, the chixxors will be lining up...

[nekoniku]

...to meet the guy with a headband full of battery-powered dangling wires on his head and a can of Red Bull in each hand...

Re:Electroshock Supervillains?

[Nos.]

Are there any other great things I can do to myself to get any other cool superpowers?
Oh there's a few things:

• Be in the vicinity of a gamma bomb explosion
• Get bitten by a radioactive spider (or is that a genetically altered spider now?)
• Be born on Krypton
• ...

Headband

[IMarvinTPA]

So, how much is a headband of intellect +1?

Hmm
IMarv

Re:Headband

[Open_The_Box]

Your head glows red for a moment.

in singles bars?

[HughsOnFirst]

"in singles bars, where increased cognition would be a welcome change."

Don't get out much do you?
Diminished cognitive ability is what most bars are based upon. Either that or the opportunity to

• act

like an idiot with a plausible excuse / scapegoat.
Quite fun actually.
Coffeehouses on the other hand...

Re:in singles bars?

[El]

Exactly! When I walk into a singles bar, I immediately scan the room for any women that are blind drunk and stupid. I certainly shy away from any female that can spot a loser from across the room! I assure you, the last thing I need is women with increased cognitive ability!

scientific ethics?

[my_fake_account]

"But once she had convinced them that the current was harmless, Iyer says, recruitment was not a problem."

It's an experiment-- she really didn't know that it was going to be harmless-- she hypothesized that it would be. It could just as easily caused permanent cognitive function loss.

Re:Coming to an office near you.

[node 3]

A 20% increase in vocabulary performance could be quite beneficial in a number of occupations.

Such as President?

You know, this might help explain the mysterious lump...

couple of comments on this

[austad]

Did they take two groups of 50, or did they do all people first with no current, and then with current? Because if it's the second option, the people had time to think about what they were doing and to mentally prepare for it. Poor experiments yield crappy results. What they need to do is get two groups of 1000 people and do one with current, and one without, and analyze the stats to see if it makes a difference.

This reminds me of the now defunct Museum of Questionable Medical devices that used to exist near downtown Minneapolis. They had this thing on the counter with two metal handles. You insert a nickel, and are treated to a soothing electrical shock which is supposed to heal any ailments you may have. I dropped a nickel in, grabbed the handles, and it almost knocked me on my ass. I've been shocked by 120v line voltage before, and it felt identical. The guy behind the counter was laughing his ass off, and he said "you should see some people. It drops them to the floor and they cry."

In any case, if this whole voltage across your head thing works, the current is low enough to where it could probably be done via an implant which wouldn't need to be replaced very often. Of course, now that this came out, it's only a matter of time before we see Darwin candidates using TENS devices and other things to make them smarter. Which might arguably work since they'd only do it once.