The Modulatory Effects of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Brain Oscillatory Patterns in the Beta Band...

Background: In the last few years, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) has attracted attention as a promising approach to interact with ongoing oscillatory cortical activity and, consequently, to enhance cognitive and motor processes. While tACS findings are limited by high variability in young adults' responses, its effects on brain oscillations in older adults remain largely unexplored. In fact, the modulatory effects of tACS on cortical oscillations in healthy aging participants have not yet been investigated extensively, particularly during movement. This study aimed to examine the after-effects of 20 Hz and 70 Hz High-Definition tACS on beta oscillations both during rest and movement. Methods: We recorded resting state EEG signals and during a handgrip task in 15 healthy older participants. We applied 10 min of 20 Hz HD-tACS, 70 Hz HD-tACS or Sham stimulation for 10 min. We extracted resting-state beta power and movement-related beta desynchronization (MRBD) values to compare between stimulation frequencies and across time. Results: We found that 20 Hz HD-tACS induced a significant reduction in beta power for electrodes C3 and CP3, while 70 Hz did not have any significant effects. With regards to MRBD, 20 Hz HD-tACS led to more negative values, while 70 Hz HD-tACS resulted in more positive ones for electrodes C3 and FC3. Conclusions: These findings suggest that HD-tACS can modulate beta brain oscillations with frequency specificity. They also highlight the focal impact of HD-tACS, which elicits effects on the cortical region situated directly beneath the stimulation electrode.