I don't think there really is any Anti-Abilities in the brain. In my research (ahem, extensive internet browsing) on the subject the only positive gains you can get from negatively stimulating a particular area are from when that area is causing problems. As this article states (excerpt below), the gains from this particular experiment are from increasing [positive] stimulation in the math-oriented areas of the brain. If you down-regulate any part of the brain, you're not really "unlocking" any new ability but rather just making that area function less... which can be a good thing (stress, pain, etc).
"He found that he could temporarily turn off regions of the brain known to be important for cognitive skills. When the parietal lobe of the brain was stimulated using that technique, he found that the basic arithmetic skills of doctoral students who were normally very good with numbers were reduced to a level similar to those with developmental dyscalculia."
"That led to his next inquiry: If current could turn off regions of the brain making people temporarily math-challenged, could a different type of stimulation improve math performance? Cognitive training helps to some extent in some individuals with math difficulties. Dr. Cohen Kadosh wondered if such learning could be improved if the brain was stimulated at the same time."
For sure, TDCS usually increases activity around the positive electrode and decreases it around the negative electrode.
In this case i'm sure the minor sacrifice these people are making is worth the potentially disabling number-dyslexia.
Technically, this is possible. With TDCS, the negative end of the electrode will have reduced brain activity around it and the positive electrode will have increased activity. In most TDCS regimes, the negative electrode goes somewhere on your torso or arm, thus only making your biceps dumb.
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I don't think there really is any Anti-Abilities in the brain. In my research (ahem, extensive internet browsing) on the subject the only positive gains you can get from negatively stimulating a particular area are from when that area is causing problems. As this article states (excerpt below), the gains from this particular experiment are from increasing [positive] stimulation in the math-oriented areas of the brain. If you down-regulate any part of the brain, you're not really "unlocking" any new ability but rather just making that area function less... which can be a good thing (stress, pain, etc).
"He found that he could temporarily turn off regions of the brain known to be important for cognitive skills. When the parietal lobe of the brain was stimulated using that technique, he found that the basic arithmetic skills of doctoral students who were normally very good with numbers were reduced to a level similar to those with developmental dyscalculia." "That led to his next inquiry: If current could turn off regions of the brain making people temporarily math-challenged, could a different type of stimulation improve math performance? Cognitive training helps to some extent in some individuals with math difficulties. Dr. Cohen Kadosh wondered if such learning could be improved if the brain was stimulated at the same time."
For sure, TDCS usually increases activity around the positive electrode and decreases it around the negative electrode. In this case i'm sure the minor sacrifice these people are making is worth the potentially disabling number-dyslexia.
If you want to get shocked for science, there are tons of studies that use this technique for all kinds of stuff. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/...
Some regimes call for negative feedback to reduce activity such as those for tinnitus or some depression montages.
Technically, this is possible. With TDCS, the negative end of the electrode will have reduced brain activity around it and the positive electrode will have increased activity. In most TDCS regimes, the negative electrode goes somewhere on your torso or arm, thus only making your biceps dumb.
I have the parts on order, It's called TDCS and there's a ton of research about it. This "discovery" is nothing new.