Application of a weak electric current to the frontal areas of the brain boosts creativity and may lead to a novel method of treating depression, a new proof-of-concept study suggests.
Applying 10 Hz of stimulation via electrodes to healthy individuals, the team was able to increase alpha oscillations in the brain and improve performance on a commonly used measure of creativity.
They now hope to use the findings as a springboard to improve alpha oscillations in individuals with depression and so improve symptoms.
Explaining how alpha oscillations may mediate creativity, coauthor Flavio Frohlich, PhD, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, said in a release, “For a long time, people thought alpha waves represented the brain idling.”
“But over the past 20 years, we’ve developed much better insight. Our brains are not wasting energy, creating these patterns for nothing. When the brain is decoupled from the environment, it still does important things.”
The team believes that the stimulation may also enhance phase synchronization between the frontal regions, further boosting creativity.
The research is published in the June issue of Cortex.
Continue —> Novel Brain Stimulation May Boost Creativity, Treat Depression.
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