Transcranial alternating current stimulation entrains cortical oscillations and alters perception

Evidence

TACS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that can be applied safely and silently using portable and relatively inexpensive equipment. Its application involves inducing a weak electric current between electrodes at the scalp (Nitsche et al. 2008 ; Zaghi et al. 2010 ; Paulus 2011 ). The current partially penetrates the brain, where it propagates widely and forces neuronal excitability to oscillate along with its alternating waveform (Frohlich and McCormick 2010 ; Ozen et al. 2010 ). In this way, tACS may entrain ongoing cortical oscillations at corresponding frequencies and impact on different aspects of sensory-perceptual-motor processing and higher-order cognition, depending on stimulation parameters such as electrode positions (reviewed in Herrmann et al. 2013 ). — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4769

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines tACS: non-invasive scalp-electrode current that forces neuronal excitability to oscillate with its waveform and may entrain cortical rhythms.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s ongoing interest in how external stimuli entrain neural oscillators and gate perception — a mechanism linking physiology to psychoacoustics.