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Synchronizing Brain Rhythms to Improve Cognition.
Shrey Grover1, John A Nguyen1, Robert M G Reinhart1,2,3,4
1Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA; email: grovers@bu.edu, akida@bu.edu, rmgr@bu.edu.
Annual Review of Medicine
|October 9, 2020
Summary
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) rapidly improves cognition by modulating brain network rhythms. This noninvasive neuromodulation offers a promising drug-free approach for cognitive brain disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Neuromodulation
Background:
- Cognitive impairment is prevalent in neuropsychiatric disorders, significantly reducing quality of life.
- Synchronous electrophysiological rhythms are crucial for brain network communication underlying cognition.
- Disruptions in these rhythms contribute to cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the emerging technology of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS).
- To highlight tACS's potential in improving cognitive functions by modulating network synchronization.
- To discuss the future of noninvasive neuromodulation for cognitive brain disorders.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing research on transcranial alternating current stimulation.
- Analysis of studies demonstrating tACS effects on cognitive domains.
- Exploration of tACS's mechanism in modulating rhythmic network synchronization.
Main Results:
- Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) shows early, remarkable results in enhancing various cognitive functions.
- tACS effectively modulates properties of rhythmic synchronization in large-scale brain networks.
- The technology demonstrates rapid improvements in human cognition.
Conclusions:
- tACS is a promising noninvasive neuromodulation technique for cognitive enhancement.
- Future research can establish tACS as a drug-free, circuit-based therapeutic for cognitive disorders.
- Modulating network synchronization offers a pathway to rescue cognitive function.
Keywords:
cognitioncognitive deficitscross-frequency couplingneuropsychiatric disorderssynchronizationtranscranial alternating current stimulationMore Related Videos
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