Electrical brain stimulation techniques are used to help in the treatment of various mental health conditions, learning difficulties, chronic pain, enhance recovery after stroke, and even improve memory loss in dementia.

These techniques use a small electrical current to alter brain activity – it may be used to increase or decrease brain activity in specific parts of the brain, or alter brain chemicals related to pain, memory or learning.

These treatments are non-invasive (meaning they do not require surgery), low-cost and well-tolerated by patients. These treatments are an area of active research, but early evidence suggests that they may be used to treat depression, learning problems and even improve memory.

Why funding is needed

Our current methods use stimulation where the current flows through more than half of the brain, diluting the effect of the stimulation.

By applying the stimulation in a targeted manner or stimulating the deeper areas of the brain, we expect to have better outcomes for patients.

It costs £24,000 to buy the HD-tDCS equipment.

What we are doing in this area

At the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre, we are pioneering these kinds of treatments to help patients with different neurological conditions. Two of the most promising new techniques for brain stimulation are:

High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS): Uses small electrodes to apply weak electrical currents to stimulate a small area of the brain. This approach allows stimulation in a targeted and personalised manner, producing better results.

Temporal interference (TI): A new technique which allows stimulation of deeper areas of the brain non-invasively.