The Perils of Using Electrical Stimulation to Change Human Brains

Fitz, Nicholas S.; Reiner, Peter B.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-404704-4.00003-x

Cited by 9 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…Fitz and Reiner (2014) explain that an “ easily accessable world of DIY tDCS enhancement ” has arisen due to the inexpensiveness of the technique and the easily accessible ingredients that are needed to build a tDCS device at home (p. 74). Consequently, lay people are enabled to use these stimulation devices without sufficient background knowledge on brain functionality or safe usage guidelines (Levy and Savulescu, 2014).…”

Section: Tes-based Enhancement: Identifying the Issues For Child Wellmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, lay people are enabled to use these stimulation devices without sufficient background knowledge on brain functionality or safe usage guidelines (Levy and Savulescu, 2014). Fitz and Reiner (2014) reason that the self-created tDCS devices allow individuals to manipulate a broad set of parameters, including polarity, current density, stimulation duration, and frequency of use. Moreover both Cohen Kadosh et al (2012) and Fitz and Reiner (2014) express their concerns about electrode placement of premanufactured or home-built tDCS-devices, and the possible use of tDCS on cortical areas for which tDCS was not investigated.…”

Section: Tes-based Enhancement: Identifying the Issues For Child Wellmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transcranial Electrical Stimulation to Enhance Cognitive Performance of Healthy Minors: A Complex Governance Challenge

Schuijer

Jong

Kupper

et al. 2017

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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An increasing number of healthy adolescents are consuming products that can enhance their cognitive performance in educational settings. Currently, the use of pharmaceuticals is the most widely discussed enhancement method in the literature, but new evidence suggests that other methods based on Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES) also have potential as cognitive enhancer. Just like pharmaceutical enhancers, the availability and education-related use of tES-devices raise a broad range of ethical, legal, and societal issues that need to be addressed by policy-makers. Few studies, however, have specifically explored these issues in relation to child wellbeing. In this narrative review with systematic search, we describe the issues for child wellbeing that could arise from the availability and education-related use of tES-based enhancers by healthy minors. We demonstrate that the issues form a complex web of uncertainties and concerns, which are mainly incited by two factors. First is the high level of factual uncertainty due to gaps in empirical evidence about the exact working mechanisms and efficacy of tES. Moreover, a lack of insight into the technique’s (long-term) effects on healthy developing brains, and uncertainties about potential cognitive trade-offs have fueled concerns about the technique’s safety and impact. The second factor that contributes to the complexity of issues is the presence of moral diversity in our society. Different opinions exist on whether a certain enhancement effect would be desirable and whether potential risks would be acceptable. These opinions depend on one’s moral perspective, and the way one interprets and weights values such as the child’s autonomy and authenticity. The challenge for proper governance resides in the design of an appropriate framework that is capable of balancing the different moral perspectives in society, while recognizing the uncertainties that still exist. We therefore argue for a responsible innovation approach, which encourages an adaptive attitude toward emerging knowledge and dynamic societal values, to deal with the identified issues regarding tES-based enhancement appropriately.

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Section: Tes-based Enhancement: Identifying the Issues For Child Wellmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tes-based Enhancement: Identifying the Issues For Child Wellmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcranial Electrical Stimulation to Enhance Cognitive Performance of Healthy Minors: A Complex Governance Challenge

Schuijer

Jong

Kupper

et al. 2017

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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“…Despite the lack of data on the prevalence of the home use of tDCS, media reports and scholarly articles have reported that the home use of brain stimulation is increasing and may become mainstream (Denejkina 2016;Fitz and Reiner 2014). This characterization is not unique to tDCS: Partridge et al (2011) found that 94% of media articles related to the use of cognitive enhancement drugs characterized the phenomenon as either Bcommon^or increasing, despite there being little evidence to justify such claims.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who Uses Direct-to-Consumer Brain Stimulation Products, and Why? A Study of Home Users of tDCS Devices

Wexler

2017

J Cogn Enhanc

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Despite the attention garnered by the home (or Bdo-it-yourself^) use of tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation), little is known about the population of actual users. The present study aimed to provide a comprehensive examination of those who purchase tDCS devices: who they are, how they learn about tDCS, and why and how they stimulate. A link to an online survey was sent to those who had purchased a tDCS device from seven different companies selling tDCS devices to the public as of June 2016; data was analyzed from 339 participants, the majority of whom reported residing in North America. The typical respondent was a wealthy, highly educated, liberal, fortysomething male living in the USA who reported being an early adopter of technology. Nearly three quarters of respondents reported using tDCS for cognitive enhancement, one-quarter for restoration, and approximately 40% for treatment; many participants selected a combination of usage indications. Notably, approximately one third of participants utilize tDCS to self-treat depression. Most who use tDCS for treatment find the technology to be effective, whereas most who use it for non-treatment purposes (i.e., only enhancement and/or restoration) find it to be ineffective. Approximately 40% of those who purchase tDCS devices either quit using the device (mostly due to lack of efficacy) or have never used the device (mostly due to lack of guidance). Participants depart from established scientific protocol particularly with regard to frequency of stimulation, with 8.4% reporting self-administering 100+ sessions of tDCS. With regard to side effects, a small subset of users (n = 10) reported serious skin burns. This study provides an empirical foundation on which to base policy recommendations and offers a fact-based perspective on a bioethical debate that has too-often been one step removed from reality.

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“…This is a personal choice, and my view is that one should not run experiments in which she/he would have not agreed to take part in as a subject. However, readers should note that research so far has indicated that when tES is used according to the guidelines, it should not lead to any adverse physical side effects (Ambrus et al, 2010;Fitz & Reiner, 2014;Poreisz, Boros, Antal, & Paulus, 2007). In contrast to TMS, which has been shown to cause seizures in some rare cases, seizures have not been documented with tES.…”

Section: Tes Is Unsafementioning

confidence: 95%

“…This does not apply necessarily to what is termed do-it-yourself (DIY) tES, which includes home use of tES (Fitz & Reiner, 2014). The issue of home use tES, without any professional guidance, is different (some clinical trials have started to use tES at home, and are preceded by training of the user, the parameters for stimulation cannot be changed, and the usage is monitored by a cloud system).…”

Section: Tes Is Unsafementioning

confidence: 98%

Modulating and enhancing cognition using brain stimulation: Science and fiction

Kadosh

2015

Journal of Cognitive Psychology

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A new line of research opens the possibility of modulating and enhancing human cognition using mild and painless transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), which includes transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS). Such initial findings trigger excitement as well as scepticism. The current review aims to provide a guideline for those who are interested in expanding their research into this field. I will therefore discuss: (1) the principles of tES and its putative mechanisms; (2) its potential to modulate and enhance cognitive abilities; (3) the misconceptions on which scepticism about this method is based; and (4) possible directions for the advancement of this field in which psychologists in general and cognitive psychologists in particular should in my view play a key role. I will conclude that this nascent field, which has been neglected by psychologists, requires their contribution in order to lead to basic and translational advancements on human behaviour.

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The Perils of Using Electrical Stimulation to Change Human Brains

Cited by 9 publications

References 111 publications

Transcranial Electrical Stimulation to Enhance Cognitive Performance of Healthy Minors: A Complex Governance Challenge

Transcranial Electrical Stimulation to Enhance Cognitive Performance of Healthy Minors: A Complex Governance Challenge

Who Uses Direct-to-Consumer Brain Stimulation Products, and Why? A Study of Home Users of tDCS Devices

Modulating and enhancing cognition using brain stimulation: Science and fiction

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