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The New Modalities of Transcranial Electric Stimulation: tACS, tRNS, and Other Approaches

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Book cover Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Abstract

The most frequently used low-intensity transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) techniques are transcranial direct current (tDCS), alternating current (tACS), and random noise stimulation (tRNS). During tES, currents are applied with intensities ranging between 0.4 and 2 mA through the human scalp. It has been suggested that tACS interacts with cortical oscillations in a frequency-specific manner at single and using tRNS, at multiple frequencies. All techniques might affect homeostatic mechanisms or the signal-to-noise ratio in the brain. The aim of this review is to summarize basic aspects of tACS and tRNS, their possible neuronal mechanisms and clinical applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the DFG (PA 419/15-1) awarded to W.P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert Koch Str. 40, Göttingen, 37075, Germany

    Andrea Antal Ph.D., Ivan Alekseichuk M.Sc. & Walter Paulus M.D.

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  1. Andrea Antal Ph.D.
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  2. Ivan Alekseichuk M.Sc.
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  3. Walter Paulus M.D.
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Correspondence to Andrea Antal Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Interdisciplinary Center for Applied Neuromodulation Department and Institute of Psychiatry Laboratory of Neurosciences (LIM-27), University Hospital and Service of Interdisciplinary Neuromodulation University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    André Brunoni

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

    Michael Nitsche

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

    Colleen Loo

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Antal, A., Alekseichuk, I., Paulus, W. (2016). The New Modalities of Transcranial Electric Stimulation: tACS, tRNS, and Other Approaches. In: Brunoni, A., Nitsche, M., Loo, C. (eds) Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33967-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33967-2_2

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