Are you desperate to take your videogame performance to the next level—and willing to indulge in some high-risk behavior? Hint: you'll need a 9-volt battery and a wet sponge!

Researchers in New Mexico claim that a faint electric massage to the brain improved the performances of volunteers playing the DARPA-sponsored war simulator DARWARS Ambush! The electric current was produced by a device running on a 9-volt battery and delivered to the volunteers via a moistened sponge applied to their right temple.

According to the authors of the study, those volunteers who received a more significant electrical current performed twice as well as those who did not. However, it appears that those enjoying the performance boost were not entirely aware of it. A neuroscientist involved with the experiment observed that these subjects did not experience "a good intuitive or introspective sense about why" they outperformed their non-electrified counterparts.

So, will the elite gaming headsets of the future include microphones and electric transmitters? (We certainly hope not.)
[ Nature.com]