For a change, we were up amongst the Gods on the fifth floor of Birbeck College, rather than the basement. This was because there were fewer attending, fifty-odd as opposed to a hundred-and-fifty-odd. Cosy, plus what would have been a view had the weather been more pleasant:
The presentation was very similar to last time with Andrew blasting us with brain biochemistry that would have Crick and Watson reeling. For those who didn't attend last time, he gave a recap, concentrating on the criteria he uses for gauging whether a particular method is effective in enhancing the brain's intelligence. To use an electronic metaphor, increasing the strength of the signals, increasing the number of signals and reducing the noise interfering with the signals.
His talk this time was to do with physical methods rather than chemical. He detailed auditory and visual methods, including ultrasound and the use of infrared lasers, which you stick up your nose. This is because that's where the bone of the skull is thinnest and it's also quite close to the Hippocampus, the part(s, you've two) of the brain that govern the processing of short-term memory into long term.
He then detailed transcranial electrical stimulation, beginning with direct current (tDCS). This is an old method, one originally worked on by Charles Darwin:
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You stick a cathode on one side and an anode on the other and put 9v across your head (there's a bit more to it than that, but not much). Done right, there are some measurable results. He then detailed the use of alternating currents, both waves (tACS) and pulses (tPCS). He finished by giving a demonstration of measuring brain waves (his) when stimulated by certain auditory frequencies, specifically the "Om" frequency:
This is supposed, by Eastern mysticism, to be the sound that created the Universe and he's detected it's effect on the part of the brain that's associated with a deep, meditative state.
All-in-all, it was an informative and entertaining presentation.
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