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Electric Brain Stimulation to Improve Driving Skills

by Rob343088

Can electric brain stimulation make a person a better driver? 
That's the question that researchers wanted to find out when they
performed a recent brain stimulation test.  Transcranial direct
current stimulation tDCS is a way of non-invasively stimulating
the cortex of the brain with small amounts of electricity. 
Basically researchers attach two small sponge electrode on your
head and allow a very small current to pass through.  This method
of stimulating the brain has very few side effects.  The sponge
electrode connected to the anode excites brain activity.  The
researchers for this particular experiment targeted an area of
the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and
excited it with electrical stimulation.  Doing this increases
activation of that specific brain area.

The DLPFC is commonly associated with a person's executive
functioning (attention, motivation, planning etc.).  People who
have low activity in this area of the brain are more impulsive
and are likely to make riskier decisions.  By selectively
increasing activity in this area scientists can reduce a person's
risk taking activity.  The researchers applied tDCS for
approximately 15 minutes to increase activity there.  The
subject's were fully awake and conscious as this procedure went
forward.  It is a very painless and safe method of brain
manipulation.

The researchers then tested the subjects in a virtual reality
driving game.  They found that when the DLPFC is stimulating it
leads to more careful driving for the participants of the study. 
This shows that stimulating this area of the brain can make a
person more cautious and potentially a better driver as they are
less willing to take any risks.  There are a variety of risk
taking behaviors that may be reduced with this new treatment. 
This technology may eventually be used on those who are addicted
to drugs when applied over the same area.

Overall this technology brings up all sorts of interesting
questions.  Will bad drivers in the future be required to undergo
a round of brain stimulation if they get a ticket?  Could this be
used as a form of mind control to keep people from doing risky
things that the government didn't want.  I think that tDCS as a
method of brain stimulation will certainly find increasing use in
the future.  Not only will it be used to improve brain disorders
but it may be used for cosmetic personality changes as well.

For more information see my blog <A
HREF="http://brainstimulant.blogspot.com/2008/01/apopka-brain-injury-lawyer.html">apopka
brain injury lawyer</a> and another article <A
HREF="http://brainstimulant.blogspot.com/2008/01/utica-brain-injury-attorney.html">utica
brain injury attorney</a>  and this article <A
HREF="http://brainstimulant.blogspot.com/2008/01/rutherford-brain-injury-lawyer.html">rutherford
brain injury lawyer</a>.

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