Tag Archives: brain research

Yes But What Do The Researchers Think About tDCS? | Nature

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From a study published earlier this year that collected responses from 265 career scientists whose work involves tDCS.
Researchers’ perspectives on scientific and ethical issues with transcranial direct current stimulation: An international survey

Researchers’ assessment of the efficacy of tDCS in clinical and enhancement contexts. Data represents distribution of responses (%) for each category, see legend.

The cautious approach to use of tDCS is also reflected in the low ratings for efficacy of its use to enhance normal functions. The tDCS research community appears well aware of current limitations and the need for future research to address those. The appearance of enthusiastic articles in the media and online suggest that these cautious views are frequently not being communicated clearly to the public. Researchers must make their views about the limited evidence of safety and efficacy clearly when speaking with the media or communicating with the public.

 

Jonah Lehrer on How to Be Creative – WSJ.com

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A man has married 20 women in a small town. All of the women are still alive, and none of them is divorced. The man has broken no laws. Who is the man?

If you solved the question, the solution probably came to you in an incandescent flash: The man is a priest. Research led by Mark Beeman and John Kounios has identified where that flash probably came from. In the seconds before the insight appears, a brain area called the superior anterior temporal gyrus aSTG exhibits a sharp spike in activity. This region, located on the surface of the right hemisphere, excels at drawing together distantly related information, which is precisely what’s needed when working on a hard creative problem.Interestingly, Mr. Beeman and his colleagues have found that certain factors make people much more likely to have an insight, better able to detect the answers generated by the aSTG. For instance, exposing subjects to a short, humorous video—the scientists use a clip of Robin Williams doing stand-up—boosts the average success rate by about 20%.Alcohol also works.

via Jonah Lehrer on How to Be Creative – WSJ.com.