scholarly journals Multivariate pattern analysis reveals location specific aftereffects of 10Hz motor cortex transcranial alternating current stimulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elinor Tzvi ◽  
Jalal Alizadeh ◽  
Christine Schubert ◽  
Joseph Classen
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Eeg Signal ◽  
Multivariate Pattern Analysis ◽  
Eeg Signals ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Multivariate Pattern

Background: Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) may induce frequency-specific aftereffects on brain oscillations in the stimulated location, which could serve as evidence for region-specific neuroplasticity. Aftereffects of tACS on the motor system remain unknown. Objective: To find evidence for aftereffects in short EEG segments following tACS to two critical nodes of the motor network, namely, left motor cortex (lMC) and right cerebellum (rCB). We hypothesized that aftereffects of lMC will be stronger in and around lMC compared to both active stimulation of rCB, as well as inactive (sham) control conditions. Methods: To this end, we employed multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA), and trained a classifier to distinguish between EEG signals following each of the three stimulation protocols. This method accounts for the multitude facets of the EEG signal and thus is more sensitive to subtle modulation of the EEG signal. Results: EEG signals in both theta (θ, 4-8Hz) and alpha (α, 8-13Hz) were better classified to lMC-tACS compared to rCB-tACS/sham, in and around lMC-tACS stimulation locations (electrodes FC3 and CP3). This effect was associated with a decrease in power following tACS. Source reconstruction revealed significant differences in premotor cortex but not in primary motor cortex as the computational model suggested. Correlation between classification accuracies in θ and α in lMC-tACS was stronger compared to rCB-tACS/sham, suggesting cross-frequency effects of tACS. Nonetheless, θ/α phase-coupling did not differ between stimulation protocols. Conclusions: Successful classification of EEG signals to left motor cortex using MVPA revealed focal tACS aftereffects on the motor cortex, indicative of region-specific neuroplasticity.

scholarly journals Online and offline effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation of the primary motor cortex

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Pozdniakov ◽  
Alicia Nunez Vorobiova ◽  
Giulia Galli ◽  
Simone Rossi ◽  
Matteo Feurra
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Random Noise ◽  
Single Pulse ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Online Application ◽  
Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

AbstractTranscranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that allows interaction with endogenous cortical oscillatory rhythms by means of external sinusoidal potentials. The physiological mechanisms underlying tACS effects are still under debate. Whereas online (e.g., ongoing) tACS over the motor cortex induces robust state-, phase- and frequency-dependent effects on cortical excitability, the offline effects (i.e. after-effects) of tACS are less clear. Here, we explored online and offline effects of tACS in two single-blind, sham-controlled experiments. In both experiments we used neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex (M1) as a probe to index changes of cortical excitability and delivered M1 tACS at 10 Hz (alpha), 20 Hz (beta) and sham (30 s of low-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation; tRNS). Corticospinal excitability was measured by single pulse TMS-induced motor evoked potentials (MEPs). tACS was delivered online in Experiment 1 and offline in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, the increase of MEPs size was maximal with the 20 Hz stimulation, however in Experiment 2 neither the 10 Hz nor the 20 Hz stimulation induced tACS offline effects. These findings support the idea that tACS affects cortical excitability only during online application, at least when delivered on the scalp overlying M1, thereby contributing to the development of effective protocols that can be applied to clinical populations.

NMDA Receptor-Mediated Motor Cortex Plasticity After 20 Hz Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 2924-2931 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Wischnewski ◽  
M Engelhardt ◽  
M A Salehinejad ◽  
D J L G Schutter ◽  
M -F Kuo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Beta Oscillations ◽  
Human Motor Cortex ◽  
After Effects ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Human Motor ◽  
Motor Cortex Plasticity

Abstract Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) has been shown to modulate neural oscillations and excitability levels in the primary motor cortex (M1). These effects can last for more than an hour and an involvement of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) mediated synaptic plasticity has been suggested. However, to date the cortical mechanisms underlying tACS after-effects have not been explored. Here, we applied 20 Hz beta tACS to M1 while participants received either the NMDAR antagonist dextromethorphan or a placebo and the effects on cortical beta oscillations and excitability were explored. When a placebo medication was administered, beta tACS was found to increase cortical excitability and beta oscillations for at least 60 min, whereas when dextromethorphan was administered, these effects were completely abolished. These results provide the first direct evidence that tACS can induce NMDAR-mediated plasticity in the motor cortex, which contributes to our understanding of tACS-induced influences on human motor cortex physiology.

scholarly journals Dissociating decisional and temporal information in interval categorisation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa C. Morita ◽  
João R. Sato ◽  
Marcelo S. Caetano ◽  
André M. Cravo
Keyword(s):  
Evoked Potentials ◽  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Interval Timing ◽  
Eeg Signal ◽  
Multivariate Pattern Analysis ◽  
Eeg Activity ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
Multivariate Pattern

AbstractInterval timing is fundamental for humans and non-human animals to interact with their environment. Several studies that investigate temporal processing combine behavioural tasks with neurophysiological methods, such as electrophysiological recordings (EEG). However, in the majority of these studies, it is hard to dissociate whether EEG activity reflects temporal or decisional information. In the present study, we investigated how time and decision is encoded in the EEG signal while human participants performed a temporal categorisation task with two different temporal references. Using a combination of evoked potentials and multivariate pattern analysis, we show that: (1) During the interval to-be-timed, both temporal and decisional information are encoded; (2) Activity evoked by the end of the interval encodes almost exclusively decisional information. These results suggest that decisional aspects of the task better explain EEG activity commonly related to temporal processing. The interplay between the encoding of time and decision is consistent with recent proposals that approximate temporal processing with decisional models.

scholarly journals Neural encoding and functional interactions underlying pantomimed movements

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Malfatti ◽  
Luca Turella
Keyword(s):  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Connectivity Analysis ◽  
Multivariate Pattern Analysis ◽  
Neural Encoding ◽  
Functional Interactions ◽  
Complex Information ◽  
Real Objects ◽  
Multivariate Pattern

AbstractPantomimes are a unique movement category which can convey complex information about our intentions in the absence of any interaction with real objects. Indeed, we can pretend to use the same tool to perform different actions or to achieve the same goal adopting different tools. Nevertheless, how our brain implements pantomimed movements is still poorly understood. In our study, we explored the neural encoding and functional interactions underlying pantomimes adopting multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) and connectivity analysis of fMRI data. Participants performed pantomimed movements, either grasp-to-move or grasp-to-use, as if they were interacting with two different tools (scissors or axe). These tools share the possibility to achieve the same goal. We adopted MVPA to investigate two levels of representation during the planning and execution of pantomimes: (1) distinguishing different actions performed with the same tool, (2) representing the same final goal irrespective of the adopted tool. We described widespread encoding of action information within regions of the so-called “tool” network. Several nodes of the network—comprising regions within the ventral and the dorsal stream—also represented goal information. The spatial distribution of goal information changed from planning—comprising posterior regions (i.e. parietal and temporal)—to execution—including also anterior regions (i.e. premotor cortex). Moreover, connectivity analysis provided evidence for task-specific bidirectional coupling between the ventral stream and parieto-frontal motor networks. Overall, we showed that pantomimes were characterized by specific patterns of action and goal encoding and by task-dependent cortical interactions.

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