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Published online 26 October 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news041025-9

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Electric currents boost brain power

Just 20 minutes with a battery is enough to ramp up verbal prowess.

Connecting a battery across the front of the head can boost verbal skills, says a team from the US National Institutes of Health.

A current of two thousandths of an ampere (a fraction of that needed to power a digital watch) applied for 20 minutes is enough to produce a significant improvement, according to data presented this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held in San Diego.

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