Effects of alternating current stimulation on the healthy and diseased brain

Autor: Aini Ismafairus eAbd Hamid, Carolin eGall, Oliver eSpeck, Andrea eAntal, Bernhard eSabel
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Frontiers in Neuroscience, Vol 9 (2015)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1662-453X
DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00391
Popis: Cognitive and neurological dysfunctions can severely impact a patient’s daily activities. In addition to medical treatment, non-invasive transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) has been proposed as a therapeutic technique to improve the functional state of the brain. Although during the last years tACS was applied in numerous studies to improve motor, somatosensory, visual and higher order cognitive functions, our knowledge is still limited regarding the mechanisms as to which type of ACS can affect cortical functions and altered neuronal oscillations seem to be the key mechanism. Because alternating current send pulses to the brain at predetermined frequencies, the online- and after-effects of ACS strongly depend on the stimulation parameters so that ‘optimal’ ACS paradigms could be achieved. This is of interest not only for neuroscience research but also for clinical practice. In this study, we summarize recent findings on ACS-effects under both normal conditions and in brain diseases.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals