Applying small direct electrical currents to the brain over five days reduces negative symptoms of schizophrenia for up to 12 weeks, according to a small clinical trial.

In the double-blinded trial, known as STARTS, 100 people with long-term schizophrenia were allocated either to transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of 2mA for 20 minutes twice-daily for five days, or to a sham treatment using the same device.