How scientists are treating brain disabilities with electrical stimulation

Deep brain stimulation, or DBS, has been used to manage conditions such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy

The research on brain stimulation is advancing so quickly, and the findings are so puzzling, that a reader might feel tempted to simply pre-order a genius cap from Amazon, to make sense of it all later.

In just the past month, scientists reported enhancing the working memory of older people using electric current passed through a skullcap and restoring some cognitive function in a brain-damaged woman, using implanted electrodes. Most recently, the Food and Drug Administration approved a smartphone-size stimulator intended to alleviate attention-deficit problems by delivering electric current through a patch placed on the forehead.

Last year, another group of scientists