What zapping your brain with electricity feels like

NEW YORK — The first thing I noticed was the stinging, as if a fire ant were attacking my right temple.

But this was no fire ant — it was current flowing through an electrode, oozing conductive gel, that was stuck to my head. Another electrode was strapped to my left arm, and both were connected by a series of wires to a small black box containing some electronics and a couple of 9-volt batteries.

Transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS, is a noninvasive form of brain stimulation that involves passing a current between electrodes on the scalp. The technique is one of a number of technologies being tested to see if it can enhance cognitive functions, such as boosting the performance of drone pilots or image analysts. Read more...