I understand this has been approved as "safe", and I doubt it would ever lead to death or harm, but I wonder what the long term effects of frequent brain stimulation could be. It could be good effects, but it could also be bad. I don't believe any longitudinal study has been done on something like this.
It doesn't seem to produce any acute effects. The research I've read before buying this seems to indicate it's a chronic effect over time. Unfortunately I don't have the patience to really do a sham/active test cycle, so I've been just alternating pulse/continuous/random cycles 3-4 times per week, 10-20 minutes per session.
Anecdotally it seems to work well. My major reason for investing into tDCS was to improve working memory, as I strongly believe I was rapidly deteriorating in that realm despite near-abstinence from alcohol and other drugs. In that regard, it seems to work well, but it could easily be a placebo effect from wearing a cool helmet.
If I had to guess I'd say I'm 75% confident that foc.us has had a material positive effect on my working memory and cognitive functions. I can't say I am 90-95% confident and I'm not sure I ever will be, since doing a rigorous test is near impossible without a partner controlling the sham effects, and even then it's for personal use and not a research study so to speak.
Not sure I would enthusiastically recommend it but the research out there points in a solid - if not dramatic - direction.
It's target market seem to be gamers, but I was just wondering are there any other positive effects that a software engineer would benefit from, besides memory?
