Defense Date

11-14-2024

Graduation Date

Fall 12-20-2024

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Clinical Psychology

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Alexander Kranjec

Committee Member

Elizabeth Fein

Committee Member

Susan Goldberg

Keywords

tdcs, transcranial direct current stimulation, internet ethnography, qualitative, citizen science, neurohacking, biohacking, transhumanism, posthumanism

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to understand the sociocultural contexts surrounding the do-it-yourself (DIY) use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) devices. TDCS is a non-invasive method of brain stimulation which has a history of use in (1) human brain mapping for basic neuroscience studies, (2) neuropsychological rehabilitation and the treatment of psychological disorders in clinical populations, and (3) cognitive enhancement in healthy people. However, its validity and effectiveness across these uses remain open to debate. Since the early 2010’s, tDCS has attracted a number of lay individuals interested in using it outside of formal scientific and medical contexts. These DIY tDCS practitioners build or buy third-party manufactured devices for self-experimentation and personal treatment. They have also expressed their interests in a number of established online communities comprised of diverse but aligned individuals who may call themselves, biohackers, neurohackers, “Quantified Self” practitioners, or post- and transhumanists.

DIY tDCS users have garnered a degree of skepticism from some neuroscience researchers and biomedical ethicists who have questioned both the safety and efficacy of their lay practices. However, despite significant popular and scientific interest in the technology, the sociocultural milieu surrounding DIY tDCS use is still not well understood. This dissertation explores two main aims pertaining to the DIY tDCS community. First, it seeks to describe the culture of opinions, attitudes, and practices, associated with DIY tDCS users. Second it asks: What is it like to engage experientially with the DIY tDCS community and participate in their practices? A mixed-methods discursive ethnographic design was employed, and three studies were performed, including: (A) a series of qualitative interviews with individuals who use DIY tDCS (n = 8), which explored and analyzed the cultural standing of their opinions surrounding the practice; (B) an internet ethnography exploring the community’s social interactions within online spaces; and (C) a DIY tDCS self-change experiment, in which the principal researcher self-administered tDCS for cognitive-enhancement purposes.

Ethnographic Observations from the internet ethnography reveal the presence of five qualitative themes; (1) Discourses related to drugs and placebo/bogus treatments; (2) Critique of establishment, but deferment to authority; (3) Discourses related to personal freedoms; (4) tDCS as disruptive practice; and (5) Heterarchy as community organizational principle. Results of the interview study also reveal discourses relevant to these five themes, representing opinions held by participants of questionable cultural standing. The cultural standing of the opinions represented by the themes range from “debatable” to “controversial.” Discussions pertaining to the politicization of tDCS use were present in both the ethnography and interviews, but were more overt in the ethnographic observations. Results of the self-change experiment indicated statistically significant improvement over time that could not be directly attributed to tDCS use, although reflections on the experience itself suggest benefits from engaging with tDCS for the larger purpose of this project. Overall, the results are interpreted in terms of their relevance to concepts in social and anthropological psychology, postphenonemology, and the existing literature on DIY tDCS across disciplines. Implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

Language

English

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