## Summary {#summary} [Transcranial direct-current stimulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_direct-current_stimulation) (tDCS) at its simplest is using electrodes to 'stimulate' the brain. It was popular in the early 2010's. You don't see as much discussion about it now. My working hypothesis is, like other treatment options that require time investments, is that time intensiveness can dissuade people from trying it (akin to telling people to spend 30 minutes at the gym every day - which arguably has a better general effect - as an aside if you're reading this and you're considering tDCS and **don't** exercise, maybe try that first). There's also still studies going on, such as using it for depression.[1] I'd like to read more about it even though my main use-case is memorization/learning.

## TODO Personal Notes {#personal-notes} I first started trying it around ~2023 - I use the "montages" (what they call placement, I don't know why, this confused me at first) related to learning. I feel like it has an effect but it could be a placebo, of course. The only non-time cost is the device itself and that most popular consumer mechanisms for it are battery operated, but you can honestly just buy some batteries in bulk on Amazon.

### DARPA's "Accelerated Learning" {#darpa-s-accelerated-learning} - Specifically, I use the DARPA "accelerated learning" montage for ~30 minutes a day at 2.0mA, usually before doing my language studies or tinkering around with new code / reading a new codebase.[2] - All of the DARPA tDCS studies were meant for acquisition of new skills related for military use (of course) - sniping/shooting skills, etc. You can see more information about it in the following [page](). It's pointed out there, but I find it interesting that it got popular enough to have podcasts about the topic years later, but then the military essentially scrubbed it from its website. I'm not too conspiratorally minded so I'm (jokingly) curious if it's either a "this doesn't matter anymore" measure vs. "oh no the soldier's brains got damaged".[^fn:1]

### Caveats {#caveats} - Just more of a covering my bases for anyone who wanders in here, but... - The wikipedia article covers most of the concerns but I'd also like to reiterate if you wander across this and try it to follow all the instructions. - for example, using salt water and proper electrode placement - gradual burns are difficult to notice when they're happening so if you bork things up you might get a small burn without noticing - there's the potential for scarring.[^fn:2] ## References

[1]

R. Moirand et al., “Ten Sessions of 30 Min tDCS over 5 Days to Achieve Remission in Depression: A Randomized Pilot Study,” Journal of clinical medicine, vol. 11, no. 3, p. 782, Jan. 2022, doi: 10.3390/jcm11030782.

[2]

“Accelerated Learning (DARPA) - Total tDCS Electrode Placement.”