For most, the idea that you might don a headset to zap your depression away or use electromagnetic pulses to sharpen your cognition seems better placed in a science fiction novel from the 1930s than modern neuroscience, but these kinds of treatments are more common than you might think.
In fact, you can now buy “vagus reset” gadgets to practice what’s broadly referred to as “neurostimulation” or “neuromodulation” at home – Instagram and Tiktok are awash with ads for them. And for more intense forms of this kind of technology, a quick online search will deliver a range of private clinics offering “repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation” to treat depression and anxiety.
