By Tammie Caldwell


This procedure is known as the transcranial direct current stimulation. This is a procedure that has gained prominence in use over the recent past. It entails the use of a current directed to a specific target on the brain using some electrodes. The process aims at creating some excitement to the brain neurons either by increasing this or reducing it. The stimulation was originally aimed at helping patients suffering from brain injuries such as the stroke patients. The tdcs has however been developed more and it has been realized that the procedure can help more in the therapy of other tasks.

The practice has also been used to enhance the attention span, mathematical abilities, memory loss, coordination, language and even problem solving. This depends with the location where the stimulation is intended to effect. The practice has been highly adapted in recent years as more people continue to learn of its merits. There are many studies that have been conducted to prove its safety and they have shown that it is safe for human use. This is however subject to proper maintenance of safety protocols.

The practice works by the sending of constant low and direct current through some electrodes to the regions of interest. The electrodes are placed on the scalp of the brain at the designated areas where the current is used to induce some intracerebral current flow. The wrong placement could lead to faults.

The current flow used can act in two ways. It can flow through to increase the excitement of the neurons in the areas being targeted. It can also be used to reduce this excitement. These changes cause alteration in the brain functions which then influence some of its activities.

The process by which to successfully undertake this is relatively simple provided you have the right equipment and knowledge on how to carry it out. It needs only two electrodes which are the positively charged anode and the negatively charged cathode. Current is known to flow from the positive anode and then end up at the negatively charged cathode for a circuit to be complete. The current therefore flows through the conducting tissues which in this case are the brain neurons and creates an excitement in them as it passes.

To start the procedure, you need to set up the equipment correctly. The skin where the electrodes are supposed to be placed is prepared properly in order for the electrodes to have a strong connection to the scalp. The pads come in different sizes. The smaller their size, the more they are able to focus to the current on the specified target to give a more desired result.

The anode or cathode is placed on the place of interest and then the other is placed at the neck or shoulder. This is known as the reference electrode. The current is then allowed too flow freely from one end to another until the time set lapses. The flow can be gradually increased or decreased.

The recent studies have shown ways on how to greatly make this process more effective. This is by the use of multiple electrodes instead of two. Some multiple gel electrodes are placed at several points on the scalp to effectively deliver more current to multiple areas. The effects are therefore higher and more long lasting in this case.




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