Brain hackers

This is the page of the Brain Hackers aka the Neurohacking/Neuromodulation London Hackspace Group. We do experiments and play around with kits to measure and alter brain activity in a non-invasive way and develop novel accessible neurostimulation means accompanied by real time measurement and feedback. Some of us are trained neuroscientists or electronics engineers, others are hobbyists. All friendly and interested people are welcome to volunteer and participate in trials, but everything is obviously at your own risk (where such risk may exist).

DIY news:

- the current ICIBCI meeting is https://www.meetup.com/NeuroTechLDN/events/245406475/# The page for the project is https://icibici.github.io/site/ and Git is at https://github.com/icibici/Android-diagnostic-app It works, and if anyone wants a kit to try, improve, and develop apps, please contact Colin Rowat <c.rowat@espero.org.uk>

- There is a first academic review of ICIBCI at http://robertoostenveld.nl/first-steps-with-a-e20-single-channel-eeg-system/

- Starting to use pink noise bands for both brainwave entrainment and covering cyclotron/larmor spectra of relevant ions using weak (a few dozen of microtesla) magnetic fields and modulated HF at 24 MHz. Emulation of global geomagnetic resonators ULF bands is to follow.

- It appears, that brainwave entrainment using weak (up to 30 mT) magnetic fields at 10 Hz only works well if supplemented with transcranial IR light (100 mW) at the same frequency

- Electrophoresis of 20 % solution of Piracetam: subjective effect appears in 10-15 min, while for the traditional Piracetam intake it typically takes 1-2 weeks, and is accompanied by a remarkable elevation of higher beta and gamma activity across the whole brain as measured with Muse

We are now in the process of organizing and starting work on a few specific projects from the Project Ideas. More update on this in the coming weeks.

List of measurement and stimulation kit available by different members of the group:

-EEG -> multiple copies of the 1 channel bipolar (TrueSense Kit) sensor, multiple copies of MindWave Mobile (1 channel) and Muse (4 channels), Emotiv Epoc+ (14 channels), KT88 (16 channels, photic stimulation), AMEA slow potentials mapper (2 channels). We have also made an EEG sensor for an audio jack of any smartphone at IMFcamp hackathon - see above.

-tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) -> DIY, via Starstim, via foc.us etc.

-tACS/tPCS (transcranial alternate current stimulation) -> DIY, foc.us, thync, Rhythm-2 2 channel tPCS stimulation device, DrTES (transcranial analgesia device)

-Transcranial laser / decoherent light stimulation within optical permeability window of tissues (roughly between 600 and 1200 nm) -> Matrix LLLT with in-built photometer and external biofeedback block, impulse modulated (0-3 kHz) 890 nm and 635 nm single and matrix array lasers, continuous modulated 810 and 640 nm, all-inclusive large laser/LED combining head, Dune lamp (an array of LEDs at 632,7 and 840 nm, 3 mW)

-High Power TMS (very short pulses up to 1 Tesla, modulation 2-2500 Hz) - TDHP40DEL with 4 coils.

-Weak field TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation, microtesla range or even lower) -> 64 coil Koren/Murphy/Persinger helmet augmented for placement of more coils, smaller phone tap coils - based hats and setups, large (3m) coil, ELF emmit coil, MIT-MT stimulators (0.1-99 Hz range) with different size coils (induction going up to 30 mT max, 8-shaped configuration up to 10 mT) including coils with centrally positioned high power red, IR and blue LEDs for combined transcranial light/photic and magnetic stimulation, MIT-11 stimulator with coils similar to MIT-MT but different induction and frequency step settings, Almag-02 Version 2 running field (up to 50 mT) pre-programmed multi-coil stimulator, Gefest peripheral feedback 4-coil stimulator (tissues impedance - modulated very low (> 1 Hz) frequency fields up to 10 mT), Biomedis M (with a 3 V jack for coils)

- SHF/THF - Aquaton weak (microwatt range) SHF stimulator (1.001 GHz that can be modulated at 0.1, 8 and 16 Hz) with an external antenna, Orbita weak (microwatt range) THF stimulators (unmodulated, 127 GHz (O2 absorbtion frequency) and 150 GHz (NO absorption frequency)), modulated 53.5 GHz module for MIT (~1 mW, 0-99 Hz range), Yav-1M (42.22 GHz, 10 mW) with signal reflection feedback via it's Gunn diode.

- Ultrasound: MIT-11 stimulator supports 44 kHz 2-5 mkm amplitude ultrasound which can be modulated from 0 to 99.9 Hz with a 0.1 Hz step. MIT-MT emitter, 880 kHz, 1 W/cm2, modulation 0-99 Hz.

-Other -> photopletismographs with vegetative status estimation capability, modulated high voltage "singing arc", scopes, magnetometers, function generators, amps, shielded random number generator etc.

Special thanks to: http://www.medintex.com/ for supplying us with kit to test.

Miscellanea:

Michael Persinger's "God Helmet" effectiveness has been reproduced by an independent group: http://www.scribd.com/doc/267811996/God-Helmet-Replication-Study

Possible step towards CEMI: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160114121806.htm

Effects of ~100 nT 2 kHz field on short term memory and attention have been detected: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bem.21944/full

Politics:

Some of us actively stand for excluding nootropics, ergotropics and adaptogenes from this Bill together with the rest of http://www.transhumanistparty.org.uk/ - see https://www.newscientist.com/article/2074813-youre-not-hallucinating-mps-really-did-pass-crazy-bad-drug-law/ for more details on the issue.

First they ban enhancing substances, and then go after the devices! Join the campaign if you are not indifferent.

Of course, you are more than welcome to suggest other relevant ideas to test and projects to try. The possibilities are, indeed, "Limitless" (pun intended).

P.S.: folks from Mind Hacking and Biohacking groups are, of course, welcome to join in, but we surely need electronics and coding enthusiasts interested in such matters!

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For neuroscience and technical questions and curiosities involving brain hacking, feel free to get in touch with any of the following:

Martin Dinov

Andrew Vladimirov

Dirk Bruere

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Some of the popular relevant presentations from Andrew can be found here:

https://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/w/index.php?title=File:Cogenhancement_part1.pdf

https://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/w/index.php?title=File:Cogenchancement_part2.pdf

https://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/w/index.php?title=File:The-future-of-accessible-neurostimulation.pdf

https://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/w/index.php?title=File:Self_hacking_via_replay_attacks.pdf

https://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/w/images/b/b9/The_rise_of_neurosocial_networks.pdf

Some of us on BBC Radio 4 and on Sky TV:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/b050zpwt

http://news.sky.com/story/1522367/brain-hacking-on-rise-could-it-make-you-perkier

Us at the first UK Brain hackathon as team Neurocraft:

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/brain-hackathon-hacking-brainwaves-to-extend-the-mind

An article in The Long and Short/New Statesman after a journalist has visited Hackspace:

http://thelongandshort.org/issues/season-four/hooking-up-zapping-your-brain.html

http://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2015/07/hacking-brain-can-diy-neuroscience-make-you-happier-and-smarter

Somewhat confused report at CNN Money:

http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2015/12/02/london-brain-hacker.cnnmoney

About our Brain Hacking stand at the Lisbon Maker Faire Sept 2015:

http://nerri.eu/eng/news-highlights/nerri-news/hacking-the-brain-at-lisbon-maker-faire.aspx

We've got a chapter on the near future of accessible neurostimulation in

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anticipating-2025-radical-changes-whether-ebook/dp/B00L2EAUP8

and another two on neurosocial networks and on machine learning in

http://fob.fastfuturepublishing.com/

with presentation videos available at

http://londonfuturists.com/2015/06/22/the-future-of-business/

Bibliography

Some relevant reading for those who want to go hardcore :-) Of course it is far from being complete and badly needs to be updated, oh well...

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Accessible measurement methodologies and BCI

Neurostimulation methods and their effects

Possible molecular level neurostimulation mechanisms and related works

Putative subatomic level mechanisms and related works

Neuronal growth promotion and control via neurostimulation

Neurofeedback

Neuronal plasticity, learning, memory, the "binding factor"

Miscellaneous electromagnetic signaling in the brain

Alternative theories of consciousness and related publications for those interested in such weird stuff