Brain-zapping headphone set may help improve athletic performance

Image credit: @HaloNeuro/ Twitter

New Delhi: With the advent of new technology, anything is possible under the sun. On similar lines, a new headset has been developed that can help people improve their performance involving physical movement, reportedly. The device, known as Halo Sport, is designed to make the physical movement more efficient by improving brain's natural plasticity. It uses a technology called Neuropriming, as per a report in South China Morning Post.

Neuropriming is the process of using electrical stimulation to increase plasticity in the brain prior to an activity. The headgear has three sections of 'primers', rubber spikes on the inside of the headband, designed to deliver a small electrical current through the scalp and into the brain.

According to South China Morning Post, the device has been desgined in a way where you can take the primers out to listen to music just like a normal pair of headphones. The motor cortex – the area of the brain that controls motor functions – lies directly beneath the part of the skull where a headphone’s headband sits. The primer spikes penetrate through the hair and rest on the scalp. 

Those with very thick hair might struggle to wiggle the primers down to scalp level, while bald people will experience the easiest connection. The stimulation is triggered via Bluetooth by the Halo Sport app, used to control the intensity of the voltage and the section of the motor cortex.

The brain-zapping headset is tested by gym goers in Hong Kong. It costs around Rs Rs 48,791 (US$750).