Is calcium boost behind brain zap effects?

摘要

We may finally be figuring out how an increasingly popular therapy that uses electricity to boost the brain's functioning has its effects - by pushing up levels of calcium in cells. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been linked to effects such as accelerated learning and improving the symptoms of depression. It involves using electrodes to send a weak current across the brain, which proponents think changes the electrical properties of neurons, leading to changes in their connectivity. But the cellular mechanisms that lead to such broad neurological changes are not clear and some are doubtful that tDCS has any effect on the brain. Despite this, devices are being developed to sell to people keen to influence their own brains.