Zapping the brain with a shot of electric current can boost creativity, according to a new University of North Carolina study.

The research, published in the journal Cortex, showed that using a low-dose current run through electrodes attached to the scalp enhanced the brain's natural alpha wave oscillations — patterns that can be seen on an electroencephalogram — to boost creativity by an average of 7.4 percent in healthy adults.

"This study is a proof-of-concept [providing] the first evidence that specifically enhancing alpha oscillations is a causal trigger of a specific and complex behavior — in this case, creativity," said senior author Flavio Frohlich, assistant professor of psychiatry, cell biology and physiology, biomedical engineering, and neurology.

"But our goal is to use this approach to help people with neurological and psychiatric illnesses. For instance, there is strong evidence that people with depression have impaired alpha oscillations. If we could enhance these brain activity patterns, then we could potentially help many people."

For the study, Frohlich's team tested the technique on 20 healthy adults then had them take the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, a standard assessment of creativity. For the first part of the study, participants received 5-minute doses of electric current before taking the test. For the second, participants received electric stimulation for the entire 30 minutes it took to take the test.

The results showed that during the 30-minute stimulation sessions, participants scored an average 7.4 percentage points higher than they did during the other sessions.

"That's a pretty big difference when it comes to creativity," Frohlich said. "Several participants showed incredible improvements in creativity. It was a very clear effect."

This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.