Effect of tACS on prefrontal neural activity is menstrual phase dependent in patients with premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Mind matters: A narrative review on affective state-dependency in non-invasive brain stimulation

“…A study on alpha hyperactivity in MDD patients ( Riddle, Alexander, Schiller, Rubinow & Frohlich, 2022 ) showed that transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at the individual alpha peak frequency (8–12 Hz) attenuated left frontal alpha hyperactivity to a significantly stronger extent in patients with higher MDD symptom severity at baseline. The state-dependency of this effect was later replicated in a case series with three women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, who showed a significant increase in frontal alpha hypoactivity when alpha-tACS was applied in the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle, for example, when symptom severity is highest ( Riddle, Rubinow and Frohlich, 2022 ). In another study on obesity and food intake using a food photo craving task, the effects of bipolar tDCS of the DLPFC depended on sex and one's ability to control impulses ( Ray et al, 2017 ).…”

Neurophysiological mechanisms of transcranial alternating current stimulation

“…tACS was shown to be capable of controlling transitions between different activity states ( Kutchko and Fröhlich, 2013 ). A small periodic input, as stated in the resonance pattern, can cause neuron entrainment at the matched stimulation frequency ( Riddle et al, 2022 ).…”