Using High-amplitude and Focused Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation to Entrain Physiological Tremor

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2018 Mar 23

PMID 29563594

Citations 12

Authors

Ahmad Khatoun

Jolien Breukers

Sara Op de Beeck

Ioana Gabriela Nica

Jean-Marie Aerts

Laura Seynaeve

Tom Haeck

Boateng Asamoah

Myles Mc Laughlin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a noninvasive neuromodulation method that can entrain physiological tremor in healthy volunteers. We conducted two experiments to investigate the effectiveness of high-amplitude and focused tACS montages at entraining physiological tremor. Experiment 1 used saline-soaked sponge electrodes with an extra-cephalic return electrode and compared the effects of a motor (MC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) electrode location. Average peak-amplitude was 1.925 mA. Experiment 2 used gel-filled cup-electrodes in a 4 × 1 focused montage and compared the effects of MC and occipital cortex (OC) tACS. Average peak-amplitude was 4.45 mA. Experiment 1 showed that unfocused MC and PFC tACS both produced phosphenes and significant phase entrainment. Experiment 2 showed that focused MC and OC tACS produced no phosphenes but only focused MC tACS caused significant phase entrainment. At the group level, tACS did not have a significant effect on tremor amplitude. However, with focused tACS there was a significant correlation between phase entrainment and tremor amplitude modulation: subjects with higher phase entrainment showed more tremor amplitude modulation. We conclude that: (1) focused montages allow for high-amplitude tACS without phosphenes and (2) high amplitude focused tACS can entrain physiological tremor.

Citing Articles

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Frequency-Specific Modulation of Slow-Wave Neural Oscillations via Weak Exogeneous Extracellular Fields Reveals a Resonance Pattern.

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A Computational Modeling Study to Investigate the Use of Epicranial Electrodes to Deliver Interferential Stimulation to Subcortical Regions.

Khatoun A, Asamoah B, Laughlin M Front Neurosci. 2022; 15:779271.

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tACS entrains neural activity while somatosensory input is blocked.

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