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Neuronal effects of epicranial current stimulation in macaque cortex.

Boateng Asamoah1, Ahmad Khatoun1, Maria C Romero2

  • 1Department of Neurosciences, ExpORL, KU Leuven and the Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium.

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Summary

Epicranial current stimulation (ECS) shows promise for brain neuromodulation. This study found ECS can entrain neural activity and increase spike rates, offering a potential alternative to invasive methods for certain patients.

Keywords:
40 Hz stimulationentrainmentepicranial stimulationfunctional magnetic resonance imagingtranscranial electric stimulation

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) is safe and inexpensive but delivers weak brain electric fields (E-fields) due to scalp shunting.
  • Invasive neuromodulation like deep brain stimulation (DBS) and invasive cortical stimulation (ICS) are effective but costly and risky.
  • Epicranial current stimulation (ECS) offers a novel, less invasive approach by placing electrodes on the skull.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of epicranial current stimulation (ECS) on neural activity in non-human primates.
  • To compare the efficacy of focused versus unfocused ECS montages.
  • To explore the potential of ECS as a bridge between non-invasive TES and invasive DBS/ICS.

Main Methods:

  • Two macaque monkeys were implanted with concentric ring electrodes on the skull targeting the PFG area of the parietal cortex.
  • Neural activity was recorded while stimulating with 10 or 40 Hz sinewaves using focused or unfocused montages at varying intensities (0.25–4 mA).
  • A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment was conducted using unfocused stimulation at 10 Hz.

Main Results:

  • Electric field strengths varied based on montage and stimulation intensity.
  • Focused and low-amplitude unfocused stimulation led to neural entrainment.
  • High-amplitude unfocused stimulation increased spike rates, mimicking ICS/DBS effects.
  • fMRI revealed distributed brain activation patterns, suggesting a network response to ECS.

Conclusions:

  • ECS can modulate neural activity, inducing both entrainment and increased firing rates.
  • ECS demonstrates potential as a standalone neuromodulation technique for larger brains.
  • ECS may offer a viable treatment option for patients unresponsive to TES but not suitable for ICS/DBS.