BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation
Volume 1, Issue 2 , Pages 97-105 , April 2008

Comparatively weak after-effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on cortical excitability in humans

  • Andrea Antal, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress reprint requests to: Dr Andrea Antal, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August University, Robert Koch Straße 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
  • ,
  • Klára Boros, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
  • ,
  • Csaba Poreisz, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
  • ,
  • Leila Chaieb, MS

      Affiliations

    • Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
  • ,
  • Daniella Terney, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
    • Department of Neurology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
  • ,
  • Walter Paulus, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany

Received 9 August 2007 ,Revised 12 October 2007 ,Accepted 14 October 2007.

References 

  1. Barker AT, Jalinous R, Freeston IL. Non-invasive magnetic stimulation of human motor cortex. Lancet. 1985;1:1106–1107
  2. Merton PA, Morton HB. Stimulation of the cerebral cortex in the intact human subject. Nature. 1980;285:227
  3. Nitsche MA, Paulus W. Excitability changes induced in the human motor cortex by weak transcranial direct current stimulation. J Physiol. 2000;527(Pt 3):633–639
  4. Nitsche MA, Paulus W. Sustained excitability elevations induced by transcranial DC motor cortex stimulation in humans. Neurology. 2001;57:1899–1901
  5. Priori A, Berardelli A, Rona S, Accomero N, Manfredi M. Polarization of the human motor cortex through the scalp. Neuroreport. 1998;9:2257–2260
  6. Antal A, Nitsche MA, Paulus W. Transcranial direct current stimulation and the visual cortex. Brain Res Bull. 2006;68:459–463
  7. Fregni F, Pascual-Leone A. Technology insight: noninvasive brain stimulation in neurology-perspectives on the therapeutic potential of rTMS and tDCS. Nat Clin Pract Neurol. 2007;3:383–393
  8. Lee KH, Williams LM, Breakspear M, Gordon E. Synchronous gamma activity: a review and contribution to an integrative neuroscience model of schizophrenia. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2003;41:57–78
  9. Marshall L, Helgadottir H, Molle M, Born J. Boosting slow oscillations during sleep potentiates memory. Nature. 2006;444:610–613
  10. Destexhe A, Contreras D, Steriade M. Spatiotemporal analysis of local field potentials and unit discharges in cat cerebral cortex during natural wake and sleep states. J Neurosci. 1999;19:4595–4608
  11. Nissen MJ, Bullemer P. Attentional requirements of learning: Evidence from performance measures. Cognit Psychol. 1987;19:1–32
  12. Exner C, Koschack J, Irle E. The differential role of premotor frontal cortex and basal ganglia in motor sequence learning: evidence from focal basal ganglia lesions. Learn Mem. 2002;9:376–386
  13. Nitsche MA, Schauenburg A, Lang N, et al. Facilitation of implicit motor learning by weak transcranial direct current stimulation of the primary motor cortex in the human. J Cognit Neurosci. 2003;15:619–626
  14. Oldfield RC. The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia. 1971;9:97–113
  15. Nitsche MA, Liebetanz D, Lang N, et al. Safety criteria for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in humans. Clin Neurophysiol. 2003;114:2220–2222
  16. Rothwell JC, Hallett M, Berardelli A, et al. Magnetic stimulation: motor evoked potentials: the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol Suppl. 1999;52:97–103
  17. Pascual-Leone A, Grafman J, Hallett M. Modulation of cortical motor output maps during development of implicit and explicit knowledge. Science. 1994;263:1287–1289
  18. Poreisz C, Boros K, Antal A, Paulus W. Safety aspects of transcranial direct current stimulation concerning healthy subjects and patients. Brain Res Bull. 2007;72:208–214
  19. Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the social sciences. 2nd ed.. New York: Academic Press; 1977;
  20. Nitsche MA, Liebetanz D, Antal A, et al. Modulation of cortical excitability by weak direct current stimulation—technical, safety and functional aspects. Suppl Clin Neurophysiol. 2003;56:255–276
  21. Bennett MR. The concept of long term potentiation of transmission at synapses. Prog Neurobiol. 2000;60:109–137
  22. Rioult-Pedotti MS, Friedman D, Hess G, Donoghue JP. Learning-induced LTP in neocortex. Science. 2000;290:533–536
  23. Grafton ST, Mazziotta JC, Presty S, et al. Functional anatomy of human procedural learning determined with regional cerebral blood flow and PET. J Neurosci. 1992;12:2542–2548
  24. Honda M, Deibner MP, Ibanez V, et al. Dynamic cortical involvement in implicit and explicit motor sequence learning: a PET study. Brain. 1998;121(Pt11):2159–2173
  25. Butefisch CM, Davis BC, Sawaki L, et al. Modulation of use-dependent plasticity by d-amphetamine. Ann Neurol. 2002;51:59–68
  26. Rossi S, Rossini PM. TMS in cognitive plasticity and the potential for rehabilitation. Trends Cogn Sci. 2004;8:273–279
  27. Nitsche MA, Doemkes S, Karakose T, et al. Shaping the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of the human motor cortex. J Neurophysiol. 2007;97:3109–3117
  28. George MS, Nahas Z, Borckardt JJ, et al. Brain stimulation for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2007;20:250–254

 This study was funded by the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (01GQ0432) (A.A.) and the Rose Foundation (C.P.).

PII: S1935-861X(07)00012-5

doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2007.10.001

BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation
Volume 1, Issue 2 , Pages 97-105 , April 2008