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Physiology of Transcranial Direct and Alternating Current Stimulation

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Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Non-invasive brain stimulation with weak electrical currents (transcranial electrical stimulation, tES), including direct (transcranial direct current stimulation, tDCS) or alternating current stimulation (transcranial alternating current stimulation, tACS), has been developed in neuroscience research in the last decades and since then has become an effective tool to modulate cortical excitability and oscillatory brain activity, induce neuroplasticity and alter and modulate cognition and behaviour in humans. The primary effect of tES is a subthreshold modulation of resting membrane potentials, which results in alterations of cortical excitability and spontaneous cortical activity. For tDCS, sufficiently long stimulation results in long-lasting neuroplastic after-effects. Beyond these local effects, tDCS induces modifications of functional cortical and subcortical networks. On the other hand, tACS is presumed to primarily entrain oscillatory cortical activity, dependent on the frequency of stimulation, and has been widely applied to investigate motor and cognitive functions. Here we provide an overview about physiological mechanisms of tDCS and tACS and review their potential application in studies of brain function and cognition.

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Change history

  • 10 November 2021

    A correction has been published.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Decision Neuroscience Lab, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland

    Rafael Polania

  2. Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany

    Min-Fang Kuo & Michael A. Nitsche

  3. Department of Neurology, University Medical Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany

    Michael A. Nitsche

Authors
  1. Rafael Polania
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  2. Min-Fang Kuo
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  3. Michael A. Nitsche
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Correspondence to Michael A. Nitsche .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    André R. Brunoni

  2. Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany

    Michael A. Nitsche

  3. Black Dog Institute & School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Colleen K. Loo

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Polania, R., Kuo, MF., Nitsche, M.A. (2021). Physiology of Transcranial Direct and Alternating Current Stimulation. In: Brunoni, A.R., Nitsche, M.A., Loo, C.K. (eds) Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76136-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76136-3_3

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