scholarly journals Motor Learning Based on Oscillatory Brain Activity Using Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1095
Author(s):  
Naoyuki Takeuchi ◽  
Shin-Ichi Izumi
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Social Effects ◽  
Motor Deficits ◽  
Noninvasive Brain Stimulation ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The Relationship

Developing effective tools and strategies to promote motor learning is a high-priority scientific and clinical goal. In particular, motor-related areas have been investigated as potential targets to facilitate motor learning by noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS). In addition to shedding light on the relationship between motor function and oscillatory brain activity, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), which can noninvasively entrain oscillatory brain activity and modulate oscillatory brain communication, has attracted attention as a possible technique to promote motor learning. This review focuses on the use of tACS to enhance motor learning through the manipulation of oscillatory brain activity and its potential clinical applications. We discuss a potential tACS–based approach to ameliorate motor deficits by correcting abnormal oscillatory brain activity and promoting appropriate oscillatory communication in patients after stroke or with Parkinson’s disease. Interpersonal tACS approaches to manipulate intra- and inter-brain communication may result in pro-social effects and could promote the teaching–learning process during rehabilitation sessions with a therapist. The approach of re-establishing oscillatory brain communication through tACS could be effective for motor recovery and might eventually drive the design of new neurorehabilitation approaches based on motor learning.

scholarly journals Endogenous and exogenous electric fields as modifiers of brain activity: rational design of noninvasive brain stimulation with transcranial alternating current stimulation

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Field Potential ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Noninvasive Brain Stimulation ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

Synchronized neuronal activity in the cortex generates weak electric fields that are routinely measured in humans and animal models by electroencephalography and local field potential recordings. Traditionally, these endogenous electric fields have been considered to be an epiphenomenon of brain activity. Recent work has demonstrated that active cortical networks are surprisingly susceptible to weak perturbations of the membrane voltage of a large number of neurons by electric fields. Simultaneously, noninvasive brain stimulation with weak, exogenous electric fields (transcranial current stimulation, TCS) has undergone a renaissance due to the broad scope of its possible applications in modulating brain activity for cognitive enhancement and treatment of brain disorders. This review aims to interface the recent developments in the study of both endogenous and exogenous electric fields, with a particular focus on rhythmic stimulation for the modulation of cortical oscillations. The main goal is to provide a starting point for the use of rational design for the development of novel mechanism-based TCS therapeutics based on transcranial alternating current stimulation, for the treatment of psychiatric illnesses.

Changes in TMS measures of cortical excitability induced by transcranial direct and alternating current stimulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Nitsche ◽  
Walter Paulus ◽  
Gregor Thut
Keyword(s):  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Electrical Currents ◽  
After Effects ◽  
Brain Physiology ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity

Brain stimulation with weak electrical currents (transcranial electrical stimulation, tES) is known already for about 60 years as a technique to generate modifications of cortical excitability and activity. Originally established in animal models, it was developed as a noninvasive brain stimulation tool about 20 years ago for application in humans. Stimulation with direct currents (transcranial direct current stimulation, tDCS) induces acute cortical excitability alterations, as well as neuroplastic after-effects, whereas stimulation with alternating currents (transcranial alternating current stimulation, tACS) affects primarily oscillatory brain activity but has also been shown to induce neuroplasticity effects. Beyond their respective regional effects, both stimulation techniques have also an impact on cerebral networks. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been pivotal to helping reveal the physiological effects and mechanisms of action of both stimulation techniques for motor cortex application, but also for stimulation of other areas. This chapter will supply the reader with an overview about the effects of tES on human brain physiology, as revealed by TMS.

Modulation of Motor Learning Capacity by Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

Neuroscience ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 391 ◽  
pp. 131-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisato Sugata ◽  
Kazuhiro Yagi ◽  
Shogo Yazawa ◽  
Yasunori Nagase ◽  
Kazuhito Tsuruta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Learning Capacity ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

scholarly journals Neural theta oscillations support semantic memory retrieval

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Marko ◽  
Barbora Cimrová ◽  
Igor Riečanský
Keyword(s):  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Relative Phase ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
Theta Band ◽  
Retrieval Performance ◽  
Automatic Retrieval ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity

AbstractLexical–semantic retrieval emerges through the interactions of distributed prefrontal and perisylvian brain networks. Growing evidence suggests that synchronous theta band neural oscillations might play a role in this process, yet, their functional significance remains elusive. Here, we used transcranial alternating current stimulation to induce exogenous theta oscillations at 6 Hz (θ-tACS) over left prefrontal and posterior perisylvian cortex with a 180° (anti-phase) and 0° (in-phase) relative phase difference while participants performed automatic and controlled retrieval tasks. We demonstrate that θ-tACS significantly modulated the retrieval performance and its effects were both task- and phase-specific: the in-phase tACS impaired controlled retrieval, whereas the anti-phase tACS improved controlled but impaired automatic retrieval. These findings indicate that theta band oscillatory brain activity supports binding of semantically related representations via a phase-dependent modulation of semantic activation or maintenance.

scholarly journals Dose-Dependent Effects of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Spike Timing in Awake Nonhuman Primates

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Johnson ◽  
Ivan Alekseichuk ◽  
Jordan Krieg ◽  
Alex Doyle ◽  
Ying Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Spike Timing ◽  
Novel Treatments ◽  
Dose Dependent Fashion ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Dose Dependent

ABSTRACTWeak extracellular electric fields can influence spike timing in neural networks. Approaches to impose such fields on the brain in a noninvasive manner have high potential for novel treatments of neurological and psychiatric disorders. One of these methods, transcranial alternating current stimulation (TACS), is hypothesized to affect spike timing and cause neural entrainment. However, the conditions under which these effects occur in-vivo are unknown. Here, we show that TACS modulates spike timing in awake nonhuman primates (NHPs) in a dose-dependent fashion. Recording single-unit activity from pre-and post-central gyrus regions in NHPs during TACS, we found that a larger population of neurons became entrained to the stimulation waveform for higher stimulation intensities. Performing a cluster analysis of changes in interspike intervals, we identified two main types of neural responses to TACS – increased burstiness and phase entrainment. Our results demonstrate the ability of TACS to affect spike-timing in the awake primate brain and identify fundamental neural mechanisms. Concurrent electric field recordings demonstrate that spike-timing changes occur with stimulation intensities readily achievable in humans. These results suggest that novel TACS protocols tailored to ongoing brain activity may be a potent tool to normalize spike-timing in maladaptive brain networks and neurological disease.

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Has Frequency-Dependent Effects on Motor Learning in Healthy Humans

Neuroscience ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 411 ◽  
pp. 130-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Bologna ◽  
Andrea Guerra ◽  
Giulia Paparella ◽  
Donato Colella ◽  
Alessandro Borrelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Frequency Dependent ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

scholarly journals Effects of theta transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on exploration and exploitation during uncertain decision-making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles Wischnewski ◽  
Boukje Compen
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Current Flow ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Alternating Current ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Theta Frequency ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation ◽  
Exploration Exploitation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Posterior Anterior

Exploring ones surroundings may yield unexpected rewards, but is associated with uncertainty and risk. Alternatively, exploitation of certain outcomes is related to low risk, yet potentially better outcomes remain unexamined. As such, risk-taking behavior depends on perceived uncertainty and a trade-off between exploration-exploitation. Previously, it has been suggested that risk-taking may relate to theta activity in the prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, previous studies hinted at a relationship between a right-hemispheric bias in frontal theta asymmetry and risky behavior. In the present double-blind sham-controlled within-subject study, we applied bifrontal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at the theta frequency (5 Hz) on eighteen healthy volunteers during a gambling task. Two tACS montages with either left-right or posterior-anterior current flow were employed at an intensity of 1 mA. Results showed that, compared to sham, theta tACS increased perceived uncertainty irrespective of current flow direction. Despite this observation, no direct effect of tACS on exploration behavior and general risk-taking was observed. Furthermore, frontal theta asymmetry was more right-hemispherically biased after posterior-anterior tACS, compared to sham. Finally, we used electric field simulation to identify which regions were targeted by the tACS montages as an overlap in regions may explain why the two montages resulted in comparable outcomes. Our findings provide a first step towards understanding the relationship between frontal theta oscillations and different features of risk-taking.

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