SAN FRANCISCO: Noninvasive electrical brain stimulation offers hope as a potential new tool to ease the symptoms of certain diseases and mental illnesses, but neuroscientists are warning against self-administered brain stimulation by so-called “do-it-yourself” (DIY) users.
“There is much about noninvasive brain stimulation that remains unknown,” said corresponding author Michael D. Fox, MD, PhD, Associate Director of the Deep Brain Stimulation Program and the Associate Director of the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at BIDMC and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. “Some risks, such as burns to the skin, are well recognized. However, other potential problems may not be immediately apparent. As neuroscientists we perceive an ethical obligation to draw the attention of both professionals and DIY users to some of these issues.”