Dataset Information

Dose-dependent effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation on spike timing in awake nonhuman primates.

ABSTRACT: Weak extracellular electric fields can influence spike timing in neural networks. Approaches to noninvasively impose these fields on the brain have high therapeutic potential in neurology and psychiatry. 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 recorded single-unit activity in the neocortex in awake nonhuman primates during TACS and found dose-dependent neural entrainment to the stimulation waveform. Cluster analysis of changes in interspike intervals identified two main types of neural responses to TACS-increased burstiness and phase entrainment. Our results uncover key mechanisms of TACS and show that the stimulation affects spike timing in the awake primate brain at intensities feasible in humans. Thus, novel TACS protocols tailored to ongoing brain activity may be a tool to normalize spike timing in maladaptive brain networks and neurological disease.

SUBMITTER: Johnson L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7467690 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dose-dependent effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation on spike timing in awake nonhuman primates.

Johnson Luke L Alekseichuk Ivan I Krieg Jordan J Doyle Alex A Yu Ying Y Vitek Jerrold J Johnson Matthew M Opitz Alexander A

Science advances 20200902 36

Weak extracellular electric fields can influence spike timing in neural networks. Approaches to noninvasively impose these fields on the brain have high therapeutic potential in neurology and psychiatry. 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 recorded single-unit activity in the neocortex in awake nonhuman primates during TACS and ...[more]

PMID: 32917605

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Project description:ObjectivesPersistent oscillating vertigo that occurs after entrainment to periodic motion is known as Mal de Débarquement Syndrome (MdDS). Down-modulation of this oscillating vertigo is associated with reduction in long-range resting-state functional connectivity between fronto-parieto-occipital regions. In order to determine the association between this oscillating vertigo and hypersynchrony as measured by the auditory steady-state response (ASSR), we investigated the differences in ASSR between individuals with MdDS and healthy controls as well as the change in ASSR in individuals with MdDS before and after treatment with transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS).Materials and methodsIndividuals with treatment refractory MdDS lasting at least six months received single administrations of fronto-parieto-occipital tACS in an "n-of-1" double-blind randomized design: alpha-frequency in-phase, alpha-frequency antiphase, and gamma frequency antiphase control. The treatment protocol that led to the most acute reduction in symptoms and improved balance was administered for 10-12 sessions given over three days (each session 20-min at 2-4 mA).ResultsTwenty-four individuals with MdDS participated (mean age 53.0 ± 11.8 years [range: 22-66 years, median: 57.0 years]; mean duration of illness 38.6 ± 53.4 months [range: 6-240 months, median: 18.0 months]). Individuals with MdDS had elevated ASSR compared to healthy controls at baseline (t11 = 5.95, p < 0.001). There was a significant decrease in the 40 Hz-ASSR response between responders compared to nonresponders to tACS (t-test, t15 = -2.26, p = 0.04). Both in-phase and anti-phase alpha tACS lead to symptom improvement but only antiphase alpha-tACS led to a significant decrease of 40 Hz-ASSR (t-test, t12 = -9.6, p < 0.001).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that tACS has the potential to reduce network-level hypersynchrony and pathological susceptibility to entrainment by sensory input. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first successful demonstration of desynchronization by noninvasive brain stimulation leading to reduced vertigo. Other disease states associated with pathological functional coupling of neuronal networks may similarly benefit from this novel approach.

Dataset Information

Dose-dependent effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation on spike timing in awake nonhuman primates.

Publications

Dose-dependent effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation on spike timing in awake nonhuman primates.

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