Transcranial Direct and Alternating Current Stimulation: What is the Neural Basis?
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1
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, United States
In transcranial current stimulation (TCS), small currents are applied to the head to modulate neural activity. TCS is gaining acceptance in applications to enhance learning and cognition, to treat neurological disease, and to gain insight into the causal roles of brain areas by modulating excitability or brain oscillations. However, little is known about the neural changes induced by TCS. We study the neural consequences of TCS in animal models and aim to use this improved understanding to develop novel stimulation methods.
I will present findings from intracranial recordings and two-photon imaging showing that transcranial currents generate weak intracranial fields, but that these fields are nevertheless large enough to modulate neuronal excitability, and neuronal adaptation. The effects, however, vary on small spatial scales and show a complex dependence on neuronal state and stimulation parameters. This complexity likely contributes to the variability of behavioral effects observed in humans. I will argue that a more complete understanding of this complexity is necessary to harness the full therapeutic potential of TCS.
Acknowledgements
Supported by the Army Research Office and the National Institutes of Health.
Keywords:
tDCS — transcranial direct current stimulation,
tACS (transcranial alternating current stimulation),
Visual Cortex,
electrophysi ology,
two-photon imaging
Conference:
Belgian Brain Congress 2018 — Belgian Brain Council, LIEGE, Belgium, 19 Oct - 19 Oct, 2018.
Presentation Type:
oral keynote presentations
Topic:
NOVEL STRATEGIES FOR NEUROLOGICAL AND MENTAL DISORDERS: SCIENTIFIC BASIS AND VALUE FOR PATIENT-CENTERED CARE
Citation:
Krekelberg
B
(2019). Transcranial Direct and Alternating Current Stimulation: What is the Neural Basis?.
Front. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
Belgian Brain Congress 2018 — Belgian Brain Council.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2018.95.00016
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Received:
30 Jul 2018;
Published Online:
17 Jan 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Prof. Bart Krekelberg, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, Newark, United States, bart@rutgers.edu