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Scientists Overclock People's Brains

arshadk writes with this excerpt from the BBC about researchers at Oxford University who found that inducing a small current in a subject's parietal lobe boosted their capacity for numerical learning: "The current could not be felt, and had no measurable effect on other brain functions. As it was turned on, the volunteers tried to learn a puzzle which involved substituting numbers for symbols. Those given the current from right to left across the parietal lobe did significantly better when given, compared to those who were given no electrical stimulation. The direction of the current was important — those given stimulation running in the opposite direction, left to right, did markedly worse at these puzzles than those given no current, with their ability matching that of an average six-year-old. The effects were not short-lived, either. When the volunteers whose performance improved was re-tested six months later, the benefits appear to have persisted. There was no wider effect on general maths ability in either group, just on the ability to complete the puzzles learned as the current was applied."

29 of 314 comments (clear)

  1. sweet !! by ckeo · · Score: 5, Funny

    K... I just cut the cord off a lamp... somerone talk me through this O.O

    1. Re:sweet !! by ckeo · · Score: 5, Funny

      hmmm... maybe I should just suck on a 9 volt battery while I am studying :/

    2. Re:sweet !! by Yvan256 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Luckily for you there is two flavors available: Duracell and Energizer!

    3. Re:sweet !! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      No, you're thinking of tea.

    4. Re:sweet !! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      How do you know what cat piss tastes like?

    5. Re:sweet !! by Naerymdan · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ever drank cofee?

      --
      Bah.
    6. Re:sweet !! by snspdaarf · · Score: 2, Funny

      I am glad he did. It saves the rest of us a lot of effort and embarrassment. Not to mention cat scratches.

      --
      Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
    7. Re:sweet !! by Reapman · · Score: 3, Funny

      This reminds me of that time you tried to drill a hole in your head....

    8. Re:sweet !! by Hal_Porter · · Score: 2, Funny

      You're right! I'll look into this and

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    9. Re:sweet !! by Ster · · Score: 3, Funny

      This reminds me of that time you tried to drill a hole in your head....

      That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me.

  2. Love the journal name... by lazlo · · Score: 4, Funny

    The findings are reported in the journal Current Biology.

    Awesome pun.

    --
    Pound! Bang! Bin! Bash! is this a shell script or a Batman comic?
  3. Re:Overclocking? by KingSkippus · · Score: 2, Funny

    You get a Blue Scream of Death.

  4. Re:Uhhhh.... WHAT? by heatseeker_around · · Score: 2, Funny

    I was about to ask the same question. This is a huge side effect. "Don't worry, it will not affect any other parts of your brain. You will just be a retard and unable to resolve simple puzzles for at least... we don't know yet. You'll tell us !"

  5. Re:My old boss used to do this too...no biggie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    15 minutes for a Honda Civic? What is so hard about cutting a couple of zip-ties?

  6. Re:Uhhhh.... WHAT? by Ryanrule · · Score: 2, Funny

    well, is it legal for stupid, ignorant people to have kids?

  7. Re:Uhhhh.... WHAT? by Yvan256 · · Score: 3, Funny

    The english-speaking participants then replied "Wakarimasen"?

  8. Re:My old boss used to do this too...no biggie. by HeckRuler · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm sorry, could you give that to me as a car analogy?
    er...

  9. Re:you can do this with drugs too by corbettw · · Score: 2, Funny

    yes, you shouldn't do lines of coke to be better at your job

    Except, of course, for those rare individuals for whom doing coke is a part of their job. Used car salesmen, comedians, politicians, that sort of thing.

    --
    God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
  10. Stupid is as stupid does.. by TiggertheMad · · Score: 2, Funny

    Did you just create a group of idiots?

    pretty sure that people who offered to let scientists run current through their brains as part of a test to see how it affects learning aren't Nobel prize winners to begin with....

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
  11. Re:Um.. by countertrolling · · Score: 2, Funny

    Put a diode in your electrical socket, and hook yourself up.. Be sure to stream the video on the web.

    --
    For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
  12. Re:Overclocking? by mehrotra.akash · · Score: 3, Funny

    How do you accidently overclock a PC??

  13. Re:My old boss used to do this too...no biggie. by quacking+duck · · Score: 4, Funny

    Reminds me of a Top Gear episode where they discovered that changing out an engine of a car took less time than a group of women getting ready to go out for the evening.

  14. bah! by t2t10 · · Score: 2, Funny

    You should see how quickly people solve puzzles once you start applying current to other parts of their anatomy :-)

  15. You're wrong by canuco · · Score: 2, Funny

    Too bad coffee taste like cat piss,

    I actually tasted both and cat piss is a lot saltier.

    Wait a second, what kind of coffee do you drink?

  16. Stim Pack has finally been researched at: Academy! by Shompol · · Score: 2, Funny

    Marines double their rate of fire and increase their movement rate for a limited period of time.

    Scientists from Academy report that they have researched Stimpack. The Research lasted 80 time units and required funding of 100 minerals and 100 gas. Scientific community hopes that this discovery will help keep Mutalisks and Zerglings in check.

  17. Re:LASIK, high blood pressure, gene therapy... by Quirkz · · Score: 2, Funny

    Avoid chemicals? Like dihydrogen monoxide?

  18. Re:Uhhhh.... WHAT? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Do you think he just rolled up to him and said "Hey, if I drop a zero, you get ten percent!" or do you think it was more likely in the context of math and division and calculating 10% or 1/10th of another value? Such asshole asshattery from asshats like you proves the saying "God damn you are an asshat".

  19. Re:Overclocking? by steelfood · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cut one of the plugs from the power supply and run a current from right to left through the CPU?

    --
    "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
  20. Re:My old boss used to do this too...no biggie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I believe you are refering to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24nn9SiZk4k