9-Volt Nirvana

11 snips

Aug 19, 2022

Could a simple zap to the brain enhance learning or improve performance, like becoming a better sniper? This intriguing exploration dives into transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), examining its potential to accelerate skills and knowledge acquisition. Alongside the science, the discussion humorously touches on the addictive sensations of electrical stimulation. Personal anecdotes reveal the surprising psychological effects of such training, navigating the fine line between enhancement and risk in a DIY world of brain zappers.

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ANECDOTE

tDCS Improves Sniper Skills

Sally Adee, a journalist, tried a military sniper training simulation.
After brain stimulation (tDCS), her accuracy improved drastically.

INSIGHT

How tDCS Might Work

tDCS may work by stimulating specific neuron sequences associated with expert performance.
This "primes the pump" for the brain to find and stick with these efficient pathways.

ANECDOTE

Jad's tDCS Experience

Jad Abumrad tried tDCS while attempting stereograms.
He reported a rapid improvement and a feeling of being in a "flow state."

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Learn a new language faster than ever! Leave doubt in the dust! Be a better sniper! Could you do all that and more with just a zap to the noggin? Maybe.

Back in the early 2010s, Sally Adee, then an editor at New Scientist Magazine, went to a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) conference and heard about a way to speed up learning with something called trans-cranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). A couple of years later, Sally found herself wielding an M4 assault rifle to pick off simulated enemy combatants with a battery wired to her temple. But that got then-producer Soren Wheeler thinking about this burgeoning world of electroceuticals, and if real, what limits will it reach.

For this episode, first aired back in 2014, we brought in Michael Weisend, then a neuroscientist at Wright State Research Institute, to tell us how it works (Bonus: you get to hear Jad get his brain zapped). And sat down with Peter Reiner and Nick Fitz, then at the University of British Columbia, to help us think through the consequences of a world where anyone with 20 dollars and access to a circuit board and a soldering iron, can make their own brain zapper. And then checked-in again to hear about the unexpected after-effects a day of super-charged sniper training can have on one mild-mannered science journalist.

Episode credits:

Reported by Sally Adee and Soren WheelerOriginal music by Brian Carpenter's Ghost Train Orchestra

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