A DIY Brain Zapper Can Help With Memory, Creativity, Depression

In life, if you want something, you usually have to work for it. No pain, no gain, as they say. Want to lose weight? Less pizza, more sweating. Want to get a degree? Less free time, more studying. But what if you could get smarter or more creative or less depressed by doing virtually nothing? It’s actually possible with TDCS: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation. TDCS involves a simple device, you wear on your head, that stimulates the brain without you feeling a thing.

Brent Williams, director of a technology center at Atlanta’s Kennesaw State University, wears a TDCS device two to three times a week and says it amplifies his brain power by about 10 to 15 percent.

“The thing I was most interested in with TBCS is, could it accelerate learning and could it improve memory and also improve creativity? I found that, sure enough, I had an easier time memorizing lists of information and retaining information that I would read in scientific articles. I could be more creative in the presentations that I put together, that I use when I speak around the country. To me it was just, wow! It really works! I had to say I was kind of surprised.”

Since TDCS devices are not yet FDA approved, therefore not for sale in the United States, Brent decided to build his own.

“One of my degrees is electrical engineering so I found a design for a TDCS device. It turns out to be incredibly simple to build. So off to Radio Shack I went and acquired the parts that I needed, which was $20 to $30 worth of parts, and came back home and built my first TDCS device. It worked perfectly. It did exactly what it was supposed to do,” he explained.

The device is basically an elastic band you wear around your forehead and two electrodes that you stick to various locations on your scalp, depending on what part of your brain you aim to stimulate.

“The treatment typically is about 20 minutes. Once you’ve done that 20-minute treatment, your enhanced ability to memorize or learn, or whatever you’re doing, lasts potentially for at least a couple of hours,” he said. “Some people use TDCS on an almost daily basis. It is repeated use of TDCS that really builds up the capability to learn or memorize, or whatever the case might be.”

Another major use for the device is treating people for depression. Brent says research shows it actually works and can eliminate the need for medication.

“People have written me saying, ‘You saved my life. I’ve been a depression medication patient for 10 years or 20 years. My life has been miserable due to the side effects and the cost. By using TDCS I’ve been able to set all of that aside and I now have a real life again.’ I get those as thank you notes and it’s like, wow. It’s hard to ignore that.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like TDCS devices will be on the American market anytime soon.

“The biggest roadblock seems to be that there’s no huge pile of drug company money to get behind this. It can’t be patented, it’s too simple. So it’s really much more of a grassroots thing where individuals and do-it-yourselfers are starting to use TDCS and have success with it.”

He said it’s lack of FDA approval has nothing to do with safety.

“There have been thousands and thousands and thousands of users of TDCS, particularly in studies and the do-it-yourself marketplace, and there’s not one report of a single injury.”

The devices are on the market in Europe, so you can buy one online for about $250. Or go to Brent’s website to learn more about TDCS and how to make your own device.