I'm interested in transcranial magnetic stimulation , so I thought I'd make a thread to share and discuss research being done with it and commercial products that will be available to the public for home use. the two that come to mind is foc.us and biocurrentkit http://www.biocurrentkit.com/ http://www.foc.us/ usb or 9-volt battery for 30 bucks http://tdcs-kit.com/default.asp?page=1 It's a form of neurostimulation that administers a low current on the structure the electrode is directed at. since our brain is an electrochemical thing a low current can stimulate individual parts of the brain ,which will cause an effect in brain activity and our behavior. It's not to be confused with a transcranial magnetic stimulator (TMS) , which is much more expensive and relies on a magnetic field to stimulate our brain. Both are safe , with little side effects , but more studies are needed to consider potential risks , since they're relatively new instruments . It can improve our memory depending on what structure is stimulated. It can have effects on our math abilities , have an impact on creativity , mood , language learning and even effect pain. It's limitations is to the parts of the brain closer to the surface , but has an impressive feat to impact the brain. edit: can help with itch relief , but research limited to patients with spyringomyelia http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23328331 creativity http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130314144356.htm mood http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130515094825.htm http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22215866 pain http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130102104553.htm Declaritive memory http://www.jneurosci.org/content/24/44/9985.long working memory http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3503933/ language http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17804023 accuracy http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22450198 edit: added more links
I just found this study on marijuana users and thought it was interesting how marijuana alters the decision making parts of the brain. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20729009
There are no known serious side effects and from the research i've read it's a very safe and inexpensive non-invasive method. maybe higher currents may be dangerous , but researchers only go as high as 2 ma. There are no known risks , and will admittedly need long term studies to confirm it's safety. At most you'd feel a little dizzy or fatigue if you do it multiple times a day.