Technologies exist that can evoke cognitive sensations
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Peer-reviewed literature documents that electrical brain stimulation technologies can evoke spontaneous memory retrieval and conscious experiences in humans.
Abstract
An unexplained phenomenon in neuroscience is the discovery that electrical stimulation in temporal neocortex can cause neurosurgical patients to spontaneously experience memory retrieval. Here we provide the first detailed examination of the neural basis of stimulation-induced memory retrieval by probing brain activity in a patient who reliably recalled memories of his high school (HS) after stimulation at a site in his left temporal lobe. After stimulation, this patient performed a customized memory task in which he was prompted to retrieve information from HS and non-HS topics. At the one site where stimulation evoked HS memories, remembering HS information caused a distinctive pattern of neural activity compared with retrieving non-HS information. Together, these findings suggest that the patient had a cluster of neurons in his temporal lobe that help represent the “high school-ness” of the current cognitive state. We believe that stimulation here evoked HS memories because it altered local neural activity in a way that partially mimicked the normal brain state for HS memories. More broadly, our findings suggest that brain stimulation can evoke memories by recreating neural patterns from normal cognition.
This guideline summarizes updated safety data (2017-2025) and provides expert recommendations on the use of low intensity transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) in humans. tES encompasses several techniques including transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation (otDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS), and their combinations or variations. Across over 300,000 sessions involving healthy individuals, patients with neuropsychiatric conditions, and other clinical populations, no tES-related serious adverse events (AEs) have been reported. Moderate AEs are rare and limited to a small range of specific applications. Mild AEs are common and include transient symptoms such as localized sensations (e.g., tingling or burning), headaches, and fatigue. Similar mild AEs are also reported by individuals receiving placebo stimulation. The frequency, magnitude, and type of AEs are comparable across healthy, clinical, and vulnerable groups, including children, elderly, or pregnant women. Combined interventions (e.g., co-application with EEG, TMS, or neuroimaging) have not shown increased safety risks. Safety is well-established for both bipolar and multichannel tES when applied up to 4 mA and up to 60 min per day. Higher intensities and longer stimulation durations may also be safe. Nevertheless, the number of studies using intensities above 4 mA or stimulating longer than 60 min is low. Home-based use of treatments is growing rapidly, leveraging remote supervision to provide patients with greater access and enable repeated, sustained dosing paradigms. We recommend using screening and AE questionnaires in future controlled studies, in particular when planning to extend the stimulation parameters applied. We discuss recent regulatory and ethical issues.
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