{"id":3157,"date":"2015-06-03T16:15:51","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T20:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/"},"modified":"2018-07-05T14:14:31","modified_gmt":"2018-07-05T18:14:31","slug":"scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/","title":{"rendered":"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/p>\n

Using a weak electric current to alter a specific brain activity pattern, Frohlich lab increased creativity in healthy adults. Now they\u2019re testing the same experimental protocol to alleviate symptoms in people with depression.<\/p>\n

\n
\"image2\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

A study by Frohlich lab has provided the first direct evidence that a low dose of electric current can enhance a specific brain pattern to boost creativity by an average of 7.4 percent in healthy adults, according to a common, well-validated test of creativity.<\/p>\n

This research, published in the journal Cortex<\/i>, showed that using a 10-Hertz current run through electrodes attached to the scalp enhanced the brain\u2019s natural alpha wave oscillations \u2013 prominent rhythmic patterns that can be seen on an electroencephalogram, or EEG.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis study is a proof-of-concept,\u201d said senior author Flavio Frohlich, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry, cell biology and physiology, biomedical engineering, and neurology. \u201cWe\u2019ve provided the first evidence that specifically enhancing alpha oscillations is a causal trigger of a specific and complex behavior \u2013 in this case, creativity. But our goal is to use this approach to help people with neurological and psychiatric illnesses. For instance, there is strong evidence that people with depression have impaired alpha oscillations. If we could enhance these brain activity patterns, then we could potentially help many people.<\/p>\n

For more details, visit the UNC School of Medicine Newsroom<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Using a weak electric current to alter a specific brain activity pattern, Frohlich lab increased creativity in healthy adults. Now they\u2019re testing the same experimental protocol to alleviate symptoms in people with depression.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40519,"featured_media":3158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity | UNC Neuroscience Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity | UNC Neuroscience Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Using a weak electric current to alter a specific brain activity pattern, Frohlich lab increased creativity in healthy adults. Now they\u2019re testing the same experimental protocol to alleviate symptoms in people with depression.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UNC Neuroscience Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-03T20:15:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-07-05T18:14:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"130\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"170\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uncneuro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uncneuro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-03T20:15:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-07-05T18:14:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/\"},\"wordCount\":228,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/\",\"name\":\"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity | UNC Neuroscience Center\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-03T20:15:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-07-05T18:14:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg\",\"width\":130,\"height\":170},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/\",\"name\":\"UNC Neuroscience Center\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/author\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity | UNC Neuroscience Center","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity | UNC Neuroscience Center","og_description":"Using a weak electric current to alter a specific brain activity pattern, Frohlich lab increased creativity in healthy adults. Now they\u2019re testing the same experimental protocol to alleviate symptoms in people with depression.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/","og_site_name":"UNC Neuroscience Center","article_published_time":"2015-06-03T20:15:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-07-05T18:14:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":130,"height":170,"url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uncneuro","twitter_site":"@uncneuro","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity","datePublished":"2015-06-03T20:15:51+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-05T18:14:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/"},"wordCount":228,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/","name":"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity | UNC Neuroscience Center","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg","datePublished":"2015-06-03T20:15:51+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-05T18:14:31+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg","width":130,"height":170},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Frohlich lab uses brain stimulation to boost creativity"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/","name":"UNC Neuroscience Center","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/author\/"}]}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg","featured_image_medium":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg","featured_image_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg","featured_image_large":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2.jpeg","featured_image_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/782\/2018\/07\/scientists-use-brain-stimulation-to-boost-creativity-set-stage-to-potentially-treat-depression-image2-130x150.jpeg","featured_image_alt":"","category_details":[{"name":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/category\/news\/"}],"tag_details":[],"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40519"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}