A controversial Russian scientist claims to have implanted an electrode into his brain to control his dreams by performing brain surgery on himself, in the comfort of his living room.

Michael Raduga, a Russian researcher with no neurosurgery qualifications whatsoever, reportedly lost more than a ‘liter of blood’ while performing brain surgery on himself in his home in Kazahstan, in order to implant an electrode that one day has the potential to control lucid dreams. Raduga is not a doctor, but he is the founder of Phase Research Center, and organization that claims to provide beginner’s guidance on how one may experience sleep paralysis, out-of-body experiences, and ‘astral projection’. He has quite a cult following in Russia, and many of his followers have been praising him for his courage to push boundaries in order to achieve his goals, but neurosurgeons are warning that he is treading on extremely dangerous ground.

Photos: Michael Raduga/Twitter

“This is an extremely dangerous thing to do,” Alex Green, a Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University of Oxford, told Mail Online. “All sorts of complications could have happened. For example, if he had caused bleeding from a cortical vein or an intracerebral vessel he could have had a stroke with permanent deficit or death.”

Raduga himself admitted that about 30 minutes into his DIY surgery he was ready to give up because he had already lost a lot of blood, approximately one liter, and was afraid he might pass out. Still, he allegedly managed to complete the surgery, took a shower and worked for about 10 hours straight, without anyone realizing what he had done.

The controversial researcher told no one about his plan to operate on himself. Instead, he prepared by watching hours of brain surgery footage on YouTube and experimenting on a few sheep. He managed to implant a platinum and silicon electrode into his brain, which he claims can trigger certain actions in dreams. Raduga ended up having the implant removed in a hospital after about five weeks, but according to the Phase Research Center Telegram channel, he is already looking for people ‘willing to get a brain implant for more efficient lucid dreaming’.

While Michael Raduga has yet to report any side effects of the procedure, neurosurgery experts suggest that he could also be at risk of epilepsy in the long term if any scarring is caused to the cortex of his brain.

“I am glad I survived but I was ready to die,” Raduga said in an interview. “For many people, it will be some sort of entertainment. Now, imagine a paralysed person who cannot experience anything in this life and now we find a way to help him to get into a lucid dream where everything is possible. Have sex, eat something, do something interesting.”