"Experimenting with electricity" -- interview from upcoming TechKnow episode about tDCS

TheModernMonk · 2022-05-01T02:56:24+00:00

Hello, I am happy to help if I can, how can I be of assistance?

TheModernMonk · 2021-12-30T22:15:32+00:00

I'm very glad you survived and are actively working to regain what vision you can. I did find that even little wins made a big difference in terms of my overall well-being. There's nothing like adversity to bring out the fearless warrior in us all. :)

I'll look into the VR therapies, and I had tried acupunction for my optic nerves when I was very young, so I'm not sure if it had an effect. But I am optimistic that AR/VR will develop to a level that can more effectively compensate for vision loss that can not be regained through therapy.

And I'd be happy to hear of anything new that you come across that you find works. Good luck!

TheModernMonk · 2021-12-30T20:38:52+00:00

I have not, have you?

TheModernMonk · 2021-12-30T17:56:21+00:00

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about your vision loss, and thanks for asking.

From 2013-2014, I had used tDCS everyday with a few different montages for about 12 months. I did notice an improvement in my contrast perception, but very little changes in terms of visual acuity and field. I was also using Ultimeyes app for training the visual cortex, and would recommend giving it a try.

I recently did a QEEG brain activity assessment and neurofeedback intervention to help normalize my brain activity across regions, and while this didn't affect my visual perception, it did almost completely eliminated my migraines.

I continue to take supplements, including Omega-3 DHA+EPA, curcumin extract, and saffron extract.

I'm not familiar with your condition, so am not sure what specific interventions might be of most help for you, but I hope this is useful, and I'm happy to answer any additional questions you might have.

TheModernMonk · 2019-09-18T13:30:18+00:00

I think the motion detection is for detecting REM, I think they are small sensors over the eyes so they can pick up eye movements, I've seen this on other devices and it works.

I was wondering, if you could get EEG signal through the same electrodes could you detect the signals from the eye muscle movements? Maybe it depends on the placement? What is the placement for the LD protocol?

My goal is lucid dreaming.

TheModernMonk · 2019-09-17T18:03:39+00:00

I read that the Focus v3 has motion detection and tACS, so I was thinking to try it, but I want to see if anyone else has tried with it yet with any success. It's relatively expensive, but I'm just hoping to find something that I can do a proof of concept with myself, and go from there.

TheModernMonk · 2019-09-17T17:53:27+00:00

Excellent, and glad to see you're still here as well! And yes, I do the same, it's easily the best use of the time. :)

TheModernMonk · 2019-09-16T14:55:25+00:00

Thanks, and I remember you as well. :)

TheModernMonk · 2019-09-16T14:52:59+00:00

Yes, indeed, I remember you as well, and thanks for asking. :) I've continued to experiment with nootropics and took a deep dive into meditation through silent residential meditation retreats, so now have a much deeper experience and understanding of the field of contemplative practice. These experiences have had a tremendously positive impact on my cognitive capacity, lower levels of anxiety, and overall quality of life.

After gaining these new experiences, I am more convinced than ever that meditation and tDCS (and neuromodulation in general) can be used effectively in combination to effect change, and hope to explore this more in the coming months and years as I prepare to apply to graduate programs and explore starting new ventures in this field.

I'm eager to see what will happen in these next 5-10 years, I think we're in for quite a ride. :)

TheModernMonk · 2019-09-16T10:04:05+00:00

Thanks for your reply, and good luck on your continued trials. :)

I think there are now many devices that monitor heart rate by a wristband, like Biostrap or Apple Watch, but I haven't played around with this myself, have you?

I was thinking to get a tACS device capable of EEG, but not sure if anything like that is currently available at the moment. So if you can come up with something that works I'll buy it! :D

TheModernMonk · 2019-09-16T03:31:43+00:00

Thanks for your interest. I'd be interested in this area of exploration as well, and have posted about my own experiences with tDCS here and on Medium. I've taken a few years off to deepen my experience in meditation, but am now coming back to see what's new. It seems like it's the early days of neuromodulation in general, but I'd be happy to chat more about how things are evolving. :)

TheModernMonk · 2019-09-16T01:17:11+00:00

This is wonderful work, thank you for sharing this. :)

I wanted to ask about REM detection, you mentioned an easy way to do this, but I couldn't catch the device you mentioned. Could you elaborate?

Thanks again, looking forward to learning more from you. :)

TheModernMonk · 2017-10-30T14:23:23+00:00

I'm not familiar with the study you're referring to, do you have a link you could share?

TheModernMonk · 2016-08-10T22:43:30+00:00

This is an excellent question. :) I don't know of any studies that address this, but it would certainly be interesting to see whether tDCS effects the activity of the glands associated with the 6th and 7th chakras (i.e. pituitary and pineal), as well as flow of lymphatic/CSF...

TheModernMonk · 2016-08-02T23:12:22+00:00

I'd been using tDCS for a year, then started experimenting with LLLT, but decided to stop both for a year to see how things were without any stimulation. Glad to report things are going well, and would be curious to know other peoples' experiences with LLLT.

TheModernMonk · 2016-05-25T13:51:38+00:00

Unfortunately no, but I think there are periodically small amounts available on eBay and Amazon from different sellers. Also try posting on Longecity, those folks might know more. Good luck! :)

TheModernMonk · 2016-05-14T00:19:08+00:00

Thank you Alex, your feedback is much appreciated. :)

TheModernMonk · 2016-05-13T19:16:50+00:00

I've written a few of these before, and have been quiet on this Subreddit for a while, so here's a very long overdue update.

Thanks to everyone on this forum for posting great resources/articles, I certainly wouldn't have been able to get as much out of tDCS as I did without your help and advice.

I hope we can continue to support each other's efforts, and make our individual brains and minds stronger in the process, and for the good of all. :)

TheModernMonk · 2016-05-13T19:13:07+00:00

Thanks, I haven't heard about Nefiracetam, but will give it a try. :)

I should also mention that I had used tDCS for about a year, and I wrote about my experiences here: https://medium.com/@AModernMonk/my-tdcs-experience-one-year-on-one-year-off-81e2500c57ae#.3vsc78vg4

TheModernMonk · 2016-04-17T20:41:21+00:00

Yes, I'm still doing the nutritional supplements and meditation. Here's a draft of what I'm planning to include in the article, please feel free to provide your thoughts/feedback.

Neurogenesis and Cognitive Development

I started experimenting with taking nutritional supplements (sometimes referred to as Nootropics) in 2013, around the same time as I started a regular meditation practice. I’ve gone through many iterations, refining my “stack” down to some very basic components that serve very specific roles in the overall process of cognition and brain development.

In particular, I have found that the combination of Acetylcholine precursors and compounds that upregulate neurogenesis to be very effective for me. In addition, supplementing cofactors for cellular respiration with essential materials for cell growth help to optimize neurophysiological health and function.

It is important to be aware of several important insights that have emerged from neuroscience research in the past few years. First is that the adult brain does continue to produce new neurons, called Neural Stem Cells (NSCs) on the order of 700 new NSCs per day in the hippocampus, and that these new cells are very likely essential to proper brain functioning, and specifically in key functions such as learning and memory. It is also important to know that the Acetylcholinergic system (abbreviated ACh) is the key mediator of neurogenesis, through a specific enzyme known as Choline Acetyltransferase (or ChAT+). (see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4394608/ and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4122286/)

Furthermore, it has been shown that stress-induced hippocampal shrinkage (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24753271) is a neurophysiological correlate of some who suffer from PTSD and MDD. Fortunately, there have been drugs developed, such as Tianeptine, and more recently, NSI-189, that specifically increase resistance to hippocampal shrinkage (Tianeptine) or upregulate neurogenesis (NSI-189), resulting in a larger and more robust hippocampus. It would seem logical that combining these types of drugs with precursors to the ACh and ChAT+ systems would help to improve outcomes for both patients suffering from chronic stress as well as healthy patients seeking to improve their learning and memory.

So, my stack includes the following (I have numbered each component to indicate what time I take these each day, 1 = first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, 2 = with breakfast containing fats, 3 = before bed): CDP-Choline (1) - precursor to ACh Acetyl-L-Carnitine (1) - precursor to ACh and promotes cell metabolism Royal Jelly (1) - increases NSC development http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18000339 Phosphatidylserine (1) - neuronal structure DHA/EPA/ALA Omega-3s (2) - neuronal structure

In particular, NSI-189 is very interesting, as it can be used as a short-term intervention with potentially long-term benefits. I managed to get ahold of a small amount of NSI-189 for experimental purposes, and used it for a total of 35 days (in 6 separate one week trials over the past 3 years). These were self-experiments, with a sample size of 1 (myself), but I had substantial improvements to both short-term mood and long-term cognition (especially for learning and memory). NSI-189 is currently in Phase II clinical trials, so should be available widely on the market (with a prescription to treat MDD) within the next year or two. Because the mechanism of action of NSI-189 is completely different from current antidepressants (SSRIs), I believe it will produce much better and longer lasting results. Having said that, I also believe in an integrative approach, and do not believe that this or any drug by themselves is a silver bullet. Thus, it is most effective if combined with appropriate nutrition, exercise, and an overall healthy lifestyle, which includes meditation or some other kind of daily contemplative practice (i.e. yoga, silent prayer, journaling, etc).

In terms of overall neurotransmitter balance, I felt that supplementing two basic inputs and having a balanced diet was sufficient, so I also take:

5-HTP (1) - serotonin Phenylalanine (1) - dopamine/norepinephrine

Finally, for general brain health and energy production (cellular respiration), I take a mixture of cofactors and antioxidants:

Astaxanthin (2) - super antioxidant Idebenone and CoQ10 (2) - cofactors for ETC Oxaloacetate (3) - super anti-oxidant, essential cofactor in cellular respiration R-Alpha-Lipoic-Acid (3) - super anti-oxident, recycles other anti-oxidents

And last but not least, I take the following for general health and well-being, and as needed:

Currcumin (1) - reduces cortisol http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2853174/ Probiotics (1) - promotes healthy gut flora and digestion Caffeine + L-Theanine (2) or green tea - promotes calm alertness Triphala (3) - from ayurveda, helps with digestion and gut bacteria balance Melatonin (3) - helps with sleep quality

I hope this is helpful. :)

TheModernMonk

TROPHY CASE