[Noisebridge-discuss] tDCS - call for collaboration

[Jonathan Toomim]

I'm working on building a somewhat simple transcranial direct current 
stimulation device. This is a machine which sends a small (~1 mA) 
current through your brain. Such devices are currently (pun not 
intended) being used for neuroscience research, and have been under 
investigation for roughly the last decade. They have the ability to 
enhance (anode) or suppress (cathode) neural activity in the nervous 
tissue underneath the electrode by around 20 to 40%. Depending on where 
you place the electrodes, this can have any of many different cognitive 
effects, like improvements (or reductions) in working memory ability 
(anode on left DLPFC; 
http://www.frontiersin.org/human_neuroscience/abstract/22906).

tDCS is a new, powerful, and potentially dangerous technology, and as 
such, should be used with caution, and probably shouldn't be used 
without the supervision of a trained neuroscientist. I am a trained 
neuroscientist.

I've got a design in mind for the electronics. (Op amp/MOSFET-based 
current source controlled by the DAC on an MCU.) I could use help with 
making the electrodes (wet sponges are commonly used), getting the 
circuit off of a breadboard (I'd hate for a current-reducing resistor to 
fall out during use), and potentially programming (either for the MCU or 
for the PC control program/GUI).

Anyone interested? I'll be at NB today until around 6:15, and again 
probably Saturday and maybe Sunday. I'm a short-haired redheaded dude.

Jonathan