Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Facilitates Associative Learning and Alters Functional Connectivity in the Primate Brain

MR, Krause; TP, Zanos; BA, Csorba; PK, Pilly; J, Choe; ME, Philips; A, Datta; CC, Pack

Abstract:

There has been growing interest in transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive technique purported to modulate neural activity via weak, externally applied electric fields. Although some promising preliminary data have been reported for applications ranging from stroke rehabilitation to cognitive enhancement, little is known about how tDCS affects the human brain, and some studies have concluded that it may have no effect at all. Here, we describe a macaque model of tDCS that allows us to simultaneously examine the effects of tDCS on brain activity and behavior. We find that applying tDCS to right prefrontal cortex improves monkeys' performance on an associative learning task. While firing rates do not change within the targeted area, tDCS does induce large low-frequency oscillations in the underlying tissue. These oscillations alter functional connectivity, both locally and between distant brain areas, and these long-range changes correlate with tDCS's effects on behavior. Together, these results are consistent with the idea that tDCS leads to widespread changes in brain activity and suggest that it may be a valuable method for cheaply and non-invasively altering functional connectivity in humans

Patologie/Applicazioni:

• Stimolazione elettrica transcranica (TES)

Anno:

2017

Tipo di pubblicazione:

Articolo

Parola chiave:

neuromodulazione; stimolazione elettrica transcranica; corteccia prefrontale

Testata scientifica:

Current Biology

Nota:

Il lavoro descrive l'effetto della stimolazione elettrica transcranica sul modello animale (macaco). Applicando la tDCS sulla corteccia prefrontale si possono notare incrementi della performance dell'animale in esercizi di apprendimento associativo. La neuromodulazione prodotta dalla stimolazione suggerisce che possa essere un metodo valido e a basso costo per modulare in modo non invasivo i network corticali nell'essere umano.

DOI:

10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.020