Do-It-Yourself Brain Stimulation Has Scientists Worried

Freshly Exhumed writes "Dave Siever always fancied himself as something of a musician, but also realized he did not necessarily sing or play in perfect key. Then he strapped on the electrodes of a device made by his Edmonton company, and zapped his brain's auditory cortex with a mild dose of electricity. The result, he claims, was a dramatic improvement in his ability to hear pitch, including the sour notes he produced himself. 'Now I tune everything and I practise my singing over and over and over again, because I'm more sensitive to it.' Mr. Siever was not under the supervision of a doctor or psychologist, and nor is he one himself. He is part of an extraordinary trend that has amateur enthusiasts excited, and some scientists deeply nervous: do-it-yourself brain stimulation." With studies suggesting that small doses of electricity can: increase your memory, help you learn new tasks, make you better at math, turn you into a sniper in minutes, and most importantly make the ugly seem attractive, we can expect a lot of brain zapping in the next few years.

Comments

Re:Which part of the brain do you need to zap to

[bmo]

Thread done in two. Everyone can go home now.

--
BMO

we can also expect...

[HockeyPuck]

An increase in vegetables in the next few years as well.

Re:we can also expect...

[Jane Q. Public]

"An increase in vegetables in the next few years as well."

"What a load of BS. Look, all you have to do is stick these things to your forehead and flip this little chromium sw... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZTTT. Huh? Wut?"

Re:Will it also

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't look like it.

also, you will go blind.

[decora]

not to mention growing hairy palms.

Scientists HATE Him!

[Anonymous Coward]

Click here to find out how this 47-year-old local patriot discovered one "weird" old trick to stimulate the brain and end slavery to Obama's mind control.

Re:Which part of the brain do you need to zap to

[Mister Liberty]

experience an orgasm?

With my 'previous' girlfriend? The visual cortex. Man was she ugly.

Re:Which part of the brain do you need to zap to

[Charliemopps]

All the furry sex was a lot creepier than the wire-head garbage. Those books were terrible.

Re:Which part of the brain do you need to zap to

[abies]

"stimulating electrodes are placed in the spinal canal via a needle inserted between the appropriate vertebrae in parallel with the spinal cord. The electrodes are connected to a power source"

I'll wait for strap-on version.

Re:Republicans should "go for it"

[lpp]

Don't forget their irrational loathing of homosexuality.

But the GOP fear of homosexuals is demonstrably NOT irrational. If homosexuals had their way, no GOP would ever get elected.