Neurostimulators

Are they complicated? I tried searching the literature for deep brain stimulation (DBS) and was lead to the concept of neurostimulators (implants), just search for it on google scholar to find out more. I always thought it would be cool to make one for myself, but I figure the obstacles include a steep learning curve (knowledge of neuroanatomy + some electronics design/manufacture + familiarity with the literature on neurostimulation) as well as financial and legal obstacles. I wouldn't know if the sort of devices I'm looking at are expensive to manufacture or not, but legally I could always go to Mexico and bribe a surgeon to do it. Then there's the risk of messing up yourself permanently, eg. brain hemorrhage during surgery, which isn't a trivial risk. In the end, it sounds like the ultimate DIY project, and I'm jealous because I know rich people are already able to access this technology. What does lainon think about DIY neurostimulation, or neurostimulation in general? Is it worth it? What would lainon do if s/he had a chance to try it out? Which areas would you want to be able to stimulate/activate/suppress at will, with the push of a button? Do the financial + legal + learning curve obstacles make it impossible, and if not, how much time and money would it take a competent individual to succeed in such an endeavor? Can the requirements be calculated? Does lainon disagree with the concept on an ethical basis? Would you do it if everyone else was doing it, or conversely, discourage anyone from doing it? I've uploaded a sample paper I found on google to give an idea of what I'm talking about. The particular paper isn't necessarily exactly what I'm talking about, and is a bit complicated because it has a lot of features used to obtain data in order to study the disorders it's used to treat in particular.

>>17992 The effort required to DIY is significantly greater than that needed to make enough money to have others do it for you. The division of labor is a wonderful thing. In any case it's easier to achieve most practical results with drugs or actual stimulation. The things you can only do efficiently with neurostimulation are pretty much useless outside of treating some neurological disorders. If I had to choose some implants I'd take a snooze button and pain blockers. Again, much simpler to do with pills.

>>17994 Yes, it's likely intractable as a DIY. There must be applications besides sleeping and blocking pain. For instance, stimulating the right brain regions periodically should enable the improvements of specific forms of memory. Or possibly quickly obtaining a complicated skill. Thoughts?

It is surprisingly accessible if you chose the right methods. A battery, voltage and current regulator, 2 cables and 1-2 small wet sponges will set you back around 10 bucks at most. Having current flow across your scalp (and thus partially through your brain) at the right spot already provides some brain-stimulation There are some tutorials out there on how to do it: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/build-tdcs-brain-stimulator/ This article sumarizes this trend (apparently quite a few people are trying tDCS since its so accessible, there is even a reddit on it): https://archive.fo/1OvLi And of course here comes the baseless whining: https://archive.fo/UyKwT (TL;DR: its baaad because its bad) Now moving on from this simple technique you could also look into transcranial high-frequency magnetic field stimulation, but you are looking to spend hundreds on that at least. In short you need a good coil and a driver for it (that is, a power source) that ban create an oscillating magnetic field of appropriate strength and frequency. This means at least some primary and secondary transformers, decouplers, capacitors, high-quality resonators or high-power transistors etc... Finally you can also drill holes in your head and insert gold plated microwires into your brain. But that will set you back whatever the price for a very good uni-degree in brain surgery is. Of course you will have to know how and where to drill, how and where to insert the wires, and how to coat the wires in such a way that they resist whatever juices and enzymes your body will throw at them, yet do not corrode in such a way that it starts killing brain cells or rotting your skull bone. Then you have to build the whole monitoring apparatus to receive and send the signals from those wires, making sure to not fry it. You will want to galvanically decouple the in-brain part and the outside of brain part so that a little oopsie like confusing the USB plug with the industrial-grade asynchronous current plug does not lead to an oopsie inside your brain. I would say north of 100000$ at least.

>>18003 What you're talking about is using trans-cranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) an trans cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). See https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-diy-brain-booster-devices-work/ for a quick review. The problem is that the market for these devices isn't regulated or scrutinized properly, so determining the effectiveness of such a device is difficult.

I am no OP and I'm not really interested in doing any of this but this: >>18003 >Finally you can also drill holes in your head and insert gold plated microwires into your brain. Went far beyond my comfort zone.

>>18007 >determining the effectiveness of such a device is difficult. you build one, test it and judge for yourself if you see any changes (good or bad) on you. That is how I would test the effectiveness of such a device.

>>18014 How do you account for placebo?

>>18020 as long as the effect is there, there is no need to care if it is real or a placebo effect.

>>18030 There is if you want to mass market it or administer it to unaware subjects.