Approach with caution. The products coming out of this research at the moment (e.g. foc.us) are run by quacks. Just like those energy drinks that contain neurotransmitters (first-pass metabolism anyone and the blood-brain barrier render them useless), this is highly unlikely to cause any improvement in memory, reaction time or general cognition in the healthy individual.
tDCS and rTMS are blunt tools that broadly excite and inhibit the underlying networks by disrupting neuronal local field potentials. tDCS may be effective in treating diseases such as Parkinson's where there is a deficit in the modulation of a specific brain area, but this is wholly removed from enhancing a healthy subject's cognitive abilities, particularly when the electrodes appear almost randomly placed.
But this is indeed a very promising field with powerful technology
- co-founder with five other neuroscientists of this company --> HaloNeuro.com --> drop us a line and get involved in our clinical trials if you are interested in this topic around SF or NY
The electric field for stimulation threshold is typically quoted as 100V/m. There's no chance of achieving that within the brain using the 9V battery and skin contact approach!
That's sort of the idea. Triggering stimulation would be akin to electro-shock therapy. The idea as I've seen it stated is to apply slight voltages that inhibit or encourage normal firing.
TL;DR: It doesn't work.
Now is anyone surprised by this?
Did anyone not expect this?
Well you should have. Because it had bullshit written all over it from the start.
That is not an accurate TL;DR. The DIY crowd report highly subjective improvements but the scientists are still in the early days of research (with one even ripping to shreds his own work when he discovered fundamental flaws). Some scientists are worried that the DIYers might push this into 'kook' territory and thus give a negative impression to the real research, which many believe has promise.
But it does work. "There have been therapeutic effects shown in clinical trials involving Parkinson's disease,[18] tinnitus, amblyopia, fibromyalgia, and post-stroke motor deficits"
tDCS and rTMS are blunt tools that broadly excite and inhibit the underlying networks by disrupting neuronal local field potentials. tDCS may be effective in treating diseases such as Parkinson's where there is a deficit in the modulation of a specific brain area, but this is wholly removed from enhancing a healthy subject's cognitive abilities, particularly when the electrodes appear almost randomly placed.