(NYT) – A headset recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration uses a weak electric current to shock the brain. Some researchers hope it could challenge the current pill-centric paradigm.

Ms. Davies did an internet search and confirmed that the side effects of tDCS — ringing in the ears, headaches and mild burns or irritation where the electrode pads touched the forehead — were generally transient and didn’t include amnesia. She decided to give it a try.

In England, the brain stimulation device has been approved for treating depression since 2019. It can be prescribed by a doctor or purchased over the counter, where it sells for around $530.

In December the Food and Drug Administration greenlit the same device, made by the Swedish company Flow Neuroscience, as an approved depression treatment in the United States. (Read More)