So THAT'S how to make sparks fly: How an electrical shock to the brain can make you see people as more attractive Electrical stimulation to the brain can make you perceive other people as more attractive, according to new study. In a bid to discover how certain areas of the brain affect mood and behavior, researchers from the California Institute of Technology administered mild electrical shocks to 99 participants, via electrodes attached to their their scalps. When the participants were asked before and after the shocks to rank the attractiveness of a series of faces, their rankings were found to increase after the jolt. Electrifying: According to a new study, administering a small electrical shock to the brain can make you see others as more attractive, and could also possibly be used to treat neurological disorders The painless nine-volt electrical shock - which feels 'like a tingle, or an itch,' according to Today.com - was intended to stimulate the brain's prefontal and midbrain areas. It was administered to the brain with a transcranial direct-current-stimulation, which involves placing electrodes onto the scalp. After 15 minutes of electrical stimulation, the researchers scanned participants' brains with fMRI, or functional magnetic resonance imaging. They not only saw increased activity in the prefrontal and midbrain areas, but also a boost of dopamine - a chemical in the brain associated with a person's perception of attractiveness. According to Vikram Chib, lead author of the paper, the findings also say something interesting about depression and Parkinson's, since rating the attractiveness of faces is a task often used in the diagnosis of these neurological problems. Since the electrical shocks deep within the brain were able to non-invasively alter participants' behavior, Dr Chib says he hopes some day they can be used to treat these mental disorders. Unlike drugs, the shocks would be able to treat neurological problems without affecting the body. The original study was published in science journal Translational Psychiatry.