Buzzing the brain with electricity can boost the willingness to engage in mental effort

Neuroscientists have successfully increased the motivation to exert mental effort by using a weak alternating electrical current sent through electrodes attached to the scalp to synchronize brain waves. The findings, published in Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, help to identify the neural mechanisms underlying the willingness to engage in mental effort, suggesting that midfrontal theta oscillations play a key role. “For a long time, research has mainly focused on which brain mechanisms underlie mental processes, but in the recent years it has become clear that engaging in mental effort, suggesting that midfrontal theta oscillations play a key role....
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