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Updated: Jul 17, 2025

A Novel Approach for Documenting Phosphenes Induced by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Published on: April 1, 2010
Non-invasive transcranial alternating current stimulation of spatially resolved phosphenes
Faraz Sadrzadeh-Afsharazar1, Alexandre Douplik1,2
1Photonics Group, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson University), Toronto, ON, Canada.
Abstract:
This study focused on the use of Non-Invasive Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (NITACS) to induce and map phosphenes (spark-like percepts in the visual field) in healthy individuals. The study found optimal stimulation parameters to induce reliable phosphenes without skin irritation or pain. The results suggest NITACS can be used as a tool to investigate the relationship between facial stimulation location and phosphene localization within the field of vision (FOV) and raise questions about the origin of phosphenes generated through NITACS. The outcomes of this study could serve as a source of inspiration for creating non-invasive visual aids in the future.

