As published in the Creativity Research Journal psychologists at Georgetown University have warned that this practice is spreading unsafely before a good understanding has been developed of its health effects, which is especially alarming since consumers are already buying and building these unregulated devices to shock their ever important brain. The psychologists are also cautioning that the technique called transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) may have adverse effects on the brains of young people. Why are the untrained messing with their brains?
Many potential concerns exists for the DYI-ers who are self administering electric currents to their precious brains, certainly anytime there is a risk of harm with any technology the scariest of which are those risks associated with younger populations and their developing brains. As is with most fads use of tES may be inevitable says Adam Green in a cautionary press release. What most would like to know is when did common sense vanish and it become a great idea to deliver electric shocks to your own brain, while being untrained and drastically unqualified to know and understand safety, consequences and/or repercussions as you can not just simply fix or replace a damaged brain.
Yes shock jocks there is some evidence that tES of very specific brain regions may improve various forms of cognition and may help patients with anxiety, depression, Parkinson’s and other serious conditions, but these are different devices and only when it is administered by trained health care providers in a professional medical establishment. During use at home safety directions may not be understood, or ignored and the home made devices could deliver dangerously unsafe amounts of currents. What is even more frightening is that some are doing it just to follow along and feel the shock to be trendy, and it is still not clear what effects “ safe levels “ of tES may have/be on still developing brains of young people, let alone what dangerous unsafe amounts can do. Psychologists advice parents, teachers, and anyone else to resist the temptation to use these devices to encourage creativity among children and young people.
Use of electrical brain stimulation to foster creativity has sweeping implications, the ones people outside of a medical facility should be concerned with are the negative and damaging ones of using devices that are still not regulated and do not have a good understanding developed of their health effects. Endeavors to increase human creative capacity are indeed intriguing from neuroscientific perspectives, but use among the general public raises several neuroethical legal and social issues. As use of these devices may continue to spread, at least until people start to come forward being shown to be hurt, these devices devices may likely be around for awhile. For everyone’s sake these devices need to be regulated to protect all users for safety reasons alone, especially the minds of young people, who are after all the future and their precious brains need to be protected; in this case from themselves.
