How’s your vagus nerve doing? Could it do with a little stimulation? If the answer is “Yes”, we’ve got the headphones for you. The Nervana Headphones, unveiled at the Las Vegas tech event CES 2016 last month and now available to pre-order on the company’s website, reportedly stimulate said nerve to elicit a rush of dopamine and serotonin. In other words, they get you high.
Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Nervana claims that their ‘phones use a low-level electrical frequency to tickle your vagus nerve in synch with the music you’re listening to. The signal is created by the Nervana Generator, which the ‘phones are plugged into. There’s also an ‘Ambient Mode’, which uses sounds around you, rather than pre-recored music, to the same effect. So, you could get high at a music festival (a groundbreaking thought!) or stand next to a builder using a pneumatic drill in the street to really get your rocks off.
Stimulation of the vagus nerve is used in treatment for epilepsy and depression, but usually involves implants. So it’s bold to suggest the effect could be achieved with a pair of headphones that elicit chemicals more commonly released by sex and exercise. Check out the promo below and, if you fancy testing the old adage that music gets you high, pre-order ’em next month for $299 (£210).