The caffeine hit that leaves coffee drinkers wide-eyed and alert isn’t the only way to get the brain revved up. It turns out that electrical brain stimulation also boosts cognitive function.

Cranking the central thalamus of rat brains with low-power, high-frequency electrical current boosted the critters’ object recognition memory, exploratory behavior and grooming, indicating heightened cognitive performance.

The technique, which boosts neural activity and related gene expression involved in maintaining an alert state, could be a treatment for some cognitive disabilities.

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