After Months of Unconsciousness, 9 People Wake Up After Brain Zaps By Yasmin Tayag on May 12, 2017 Filed Under Science , Biology , Medicine & Science Fiction T he strategy behind transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) devices seems hare-brained enough to be science fiction : Stick some electrodes on a human scalp, run low levels of electricity through it, and hope the current reignites dull or absent brain functions by getting neurons excited. The crazy part is that sometimes, it actually works. In a recent study, scientists found that it has the potentially to jumpstart what’s arguably the most important function of the brain — consciousness . They made this discovery by sticking the electrodes on people who, as a result of traumatic brain injury, were in a “minimally conscious state” — that is, they were awake and their awareness flickered (people who are in the more severe “vegetative” state are awake but show no signs of awareness).
