The Perils of Using Electrical Stimulation to Change Human Brains

Abstract The excitement around tDCS as a technique for changing human brains is palpable: tDCS is relatively safe, relatively inexpensive, and relatively effective, in particular as a means of enhancing normal brains. It is also relatively easy to build a device at home, and the do-it-yourself community is latching on to the latest scientific advances with alarming speed. We review the promises and pitfalls of this nascent phenomenon, and provide practical recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and regulators to generate best practices and propagate norms of safe use as tDCS rapidly evolves from an arcane but exciting experimental tool to becoming the new new thing .