Phase-Specific Dual-Site Beta Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Differentially Influences Functional
Tingting Zhu1,2, Alexander T Sack1,2, Inge Leunissen1,2
1Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Human Brain Mapping
|February 16, 2026
Summary
Dual-site transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) modulated beta-band synchrony between brain regions. While group performance didn't change, tACS altered how brain activity predicted inhibitory control and motor responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Brain Stimulation
Background:
- Inhibitory control involves coordinated beta-band activity in a fronto-basal ganglia network.
- The precise causal role of beta synchrony in motor inhibition requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal role of beta synchrony in motor inhibition.
- To explore the effects of dual-site transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on functional connectivity and inhibitory control.
Main Methods:
- Dual-site tACS was applied to the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) and left primary motor cortex (lM1) in 52 healthy participants.
- Participants performed a stop-signal task under in-phase, anti-phase, and sham stimulation conditions.
- Functional connectivity and behavioral performance were assessed.
Main Results:
- In-phase tACS increased rIFG-lM1 connectivity; anti-phase tACS decreased it.
- No significant group-level changes in stop-signal task performance were observed.
- Exploratory analyses revealed that tACS altered the relationship between beta synchrony and inhibitory/motor performance.
Conclusions:
- Dual-site beta-tACS can bidirectionally modulate rIFG-M1 connectivity in a phase-dependent manner.
- tACS selectively alters how beta synchrony predicts stopping and motor execution, despite unchanged average performance.
- Findings offer mechanistic insights for using tACS to study or normalize inhibitory network dynamics in clinical populations.
Keywords:
EEGdual‐site transcranial alternating current stimulationmotor inhibitionrIFG‐M1 networkstop signal taskMore Related Videos
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