The world gone mad, psychiatrists loose control. Scientists worry that it being misused

£500 electric shock machine can boost learning and memory - but scientists worry it could be misused.

By Katie Silver
UPDATED: 14:50 GMT, 27 January 2012

• Comments (20)
• Share

Researchers have found brain stimulation via small electric shocks can boost memory and learning

A machine which stimulates your brain with tiny electric shocks can improve memory, problem-solving and mathematical abilities, psychologists have found.

But Oxford University researchers have warned that the machine could spell trouble if it gets into the wrong hands or is used incorrectly, especially when it comes to children whose brains are still developing.

While the brain-stimulation technique has been previously used to treat cognitive impairment, new research shows it can also boost mental abilities among healthy adults.
Dr Roi Cohen Kadosh, a neuroscientist, uses a high-tech system called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to stimulate precise regions of the brain with a tiny buzz of electric current. Direct current DC will jump air gaps and is more dangerous than AC just ask any electrician.
When he stimulates the parietal lobes, which are responsible for our skills in reading, writing and numeracy, he can boost mathematical skills. Yes the patient screams swearing language in mathimatical equations instead of just calling him a Quack
The electric current triggers the area to produce chemicals that cause brain cells to develop or change. This process — ‘neural plasticity’ — is essential to learning (our brains change structure when we take on new information). What have the bad reactions been and how many is there

More...

• Did bonobos actually tame themselves? Scientists find that the African apes evolved to become gentler creatures

When Dr Cohen Kadosh’s subjects had their parietal lobes stimulated for 30 minutes every day for a week, they were able to pick up maths skills through conventional lessons far more quickly and effectively than they could before.
‘It’s completely safe. Ha Ha Ha .The electric current is one thousand times lower than anything that could cause damage,’ he says.
Tests have shown that the subjects’ maths abilities remain boosted six months after the treatment. They carnt talk now or comunicate or know who you are. To someone as numerically illiterate as me, the prospect of growing a ‘maths brain’ is exciting. But Dr Cohen Kadosh’s work is at the vanguard of a medical revolution.

With very little known on the side effects of shocking the brain, vulnerable users could be exploited or even worse, have disrupted, atypical brain development

It heralds a high-tech world of brain medicine where electronics will be used to repair deep faults, such as depression and Parkinson’s, modify problem personalities and boost everyone’s ability to learn, Not me you don't. remember and think creatively.
Already a number of home ‘brain-fixers’ are available to buy. These generally work in the same way as Cohen Kadosh’s machine and are sold on the web in the U.S. (though their effectiveness is doubtful). So what makes Cohen Kadosh's work any good?
Still the psychologist, writing in the journal Current Biology, warns against the potential dangers of the technology.

Dr Roi Cohen Kadosh has warned that the device could be very dangerous if used incorrectly So how does one use it correctly

Given the devices are relatively cheap (£500) and portable and there are no laws governing their use, they could be severely misused.
The researchers say: ‘When used within suggested guidelines, the acute safety risks (of seizures, for example) seem very low. There is a danger that it can be tried out ad hoc on adults and children and is — especially on vulnerable patient groups seeking help with serious and currently intractable developmental disorders. Disorders of the doctors choise.
He said not enough is known on side effects and there are no training programs for administering the device. Yet they do it anyway.
‘At best, this situation could result in the exploitation of vulnerable patients or parents for financial gain. It is all designed for long term financial game; at worst, it may risk long-term damage to the brain and exacerbate the disadvantage, potentially worsening other psychological functions. This is sooooo true

It is especially problematic when it comes to using the device on children where misuse could not only worsen performance but could lead to ‘atypical brain development.’ Anyone whom uses this on a child in Australia is committing child abuse and If I were to know of such would personally arrest this person with a citizens arrest.
‘Like other types of atypical experience during sensitive periods, the stimulation of the wrong brain area might induce abnormal patterns of brain activity in this brain region and interconnected areas, and increase metabolic consumption in brain areas that are irrelevant to the specific psychological function. So true
‘Hence, research into the safety and potential hazards of TDCS in children is urgently needed.’ Criminal

It is also dangerous in terms of how the different parts of the brain interact:

‘Highly-developed capacities in certain cognitive domains in some individuals are accompanied by reduced functioning in others.

'It would be premature to allow children, or their parents, to make the choices that lead to higher functioning in one domain (such as language) at a cost to functioning in other valuable domains (such as face recognition).’

For this reason, he suggests that parents should perhaps be banned from using the device. It is all Ok for medical doctors to do the shocking it must be safe for them to do it. Ha Ha  Ha
‘If TDCS does enhance some abilities at a cost to others, then assessing its ethical permissibility will involve weighing its costs and benefits,’ he said

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2092704/500-electric-shock-machine-boost-learning-memory--scientists-worry-misused.html#ixzz1wX3x1UMK