[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6025\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETranscranial electrical stimulation - boosting the brain using batteries\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technique, known as transcranial electrical stimulation, involves attaching electrodes to a specific part of the skull so that an electrical current can be targeted to a predefined region of the brain, making it become more active.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In order to pass information, neurons need to fire and they need to get to a certain electrical threshold,\u2019 said Dr Roi Cohen Kadosh from the University of Oxford, in the UK, whose research is part-funded by the European Research Council.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The electricity is able to change very mildly the thresholds of the neurons, then it increases the likelihood that the neurons will fire, so it basically increases the likelihood that this brain region is going to communicate with other brain regions.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnlike electroconvulsive therapy, where powerful electric charges are passed through the brain in order to induce seizures, transcranial electrical stimulation uses low-voltage current, which is applied painlessly to the brain in short sessions lasting around 20 minutes per day, over the course of a few days.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETranscranial stimulation only works if it is done alongside brain exercises.\u0026nbsp;For example, the researchers devised a game where people must position a spacecraft between two planets based on the fractions they are given, while wearing a wireless stimulation device.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Cohen Kadosh has shown that, by doing this, their maths ability is improved in the long term. He tested the people two months after the end of the study and showed that those who had received the stimulation still performed better than those who were given a pretend stimulation device.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We can improve skill learning, basic numerical skills, and higher ones such as arithmetic abilities,\u2019 he said during a presentation at the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) this June in Copenhagen. \u2018The effect can be long lasting.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESocial norms\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETranscranial electrical stimulation has also been used to make people more likely to adhere to the rules of society.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018By applying these kinds of currents we can change the way you interact with others \u2026 in particular how you comply with social norms,\u2019 Professor Christian Ruff at ETH Zurich told the same seminar at ESOF.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018It basically increases the likelihood that this brain region is going to communicate with other brain regions.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Roi Cohen Kadosh, University of Oxford\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn experiments where people face the risk of punishment if they do not contribute money fairly to a game, his research showed that people who had received electrical stimulation to the part of the brain that governs fear of punishment gave money more fairly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, one of the main problems is that enhancing one part of the brain could have the effect of lowering the ability of another part of the brain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There\u2019s no free lunch,\u2019 said Prof. Ruff. \u2018Neuroenhancement also means neurodegeneration, because if you enhance the function of one brain system, other brain systems may find it harder to make themselves heard in this orchestra inside of our minds.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s one of the reasons why this research is so important - transcranial electrical stimulation kits are widely available on the internet, but at the moment they are unregulated. No one knows what the effect might be without proper testing, and the technology could affect the wrong part of the brain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Even in numerical cognition, for example, if you take people with high numerical abilities and those with low numerical abilities, they would have different brain regions that are engaging in the same numerical tasks,\u2019 said Dr Cohen Kadosh.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are just at an early stage, I would not advise anyone to try this at home.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-nk0c5kwxqn6nsa634xtjdupisuur1vgnkef7hy5upqo\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-NK0c5KWxQn6NSa634xtJDUpisuUr1VgNkEf7hy5UpQo\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]