Effects of Short-Term Random Noise Electrical Stimulation on Dissociated Pyramidal Neurons from the Cerebral Cortex

Remedios, Leonardo; Mabil, Pedro; Flores‐Hernández, Jorge; Torres-Ramirez, Oswaldo; Huidobro, Nayeli; Castro, G Lo; Cervantes, L.; Tapia, Jesús Alonso; Valdovinos, Braniff De la Torre; Manjarrez, Elı́as

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.01.035

Cited by 29 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…17,33 . Recently, data from an animal model showed that tRNS can modulate sodium-channels of pyramidal cells according to the SR-typical inverted U-shaped curve with tRNS administered at intermediate intensity leading to the strongest modulation 34 . Thereby, the membrane potential of pyramidal cells in the vicinity of the tRNS-electrodes is more depolarized, which increases the probability that a weak incoming acoustic signal can evoke an action potential and, as a consequence, a subliminal signal passes detection threshold.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inconsistent effects of stochastic resonance on human auditory processing

Rufener

Kauk

Ruhnau

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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It has been demonstrated that, while otherwise detrimental, noise can improve sensory perception under optimal conditions. The mechanism underlying this improvement is stochastic resonance. An inverted U-shaped relationship between noise level and task performance is considered as the signature of stochastic resonance. Previous studies have proposed the existence of stochastic resonance also in the human auditory system. However, the reported beneficial effects of noise are small, based on a small sample, and do not confirm the proposed inverted U-shaped function. Here, we investigated in two separate studies whether stochastic resonance may be present in the human auditory system by applying noise of different levels, either acoustically or electrically via transcranial random noise stimulation, while participants had to detect acoustic stimuli adjusted to their individual hearing threshold. We find no evidence for behaviorally relevant effects of stochastic resonance. Although detection rate for near-threshold acoustic stimuli appears to vary in an inverted U-shaped manner for some subjects, it varies in a U-shaped manner or in other manners for other subjects. Our results show that subjects do not benefit from noise, irrespective of its modality. In conclusion, our results question the existence of stochastic resonance in the human auditory system. Noise is generally considered detrimental for signal processing. Under certain circumstances, however, noise can be beneficial. It has been demonstrated in a variety of micro-and macro-systems that applying noise to a weak signal can increase the probability that the signal crosses a threshold 1-3. Given such a threshold, the probability of detecting a subthreshold signal may therefore be higher in the presence of noise at a specific optimal level than in the absence of noise or in the presence of noise of suboptimal and supraoptimal levels. This results in a non-linear relationship between the probability of detecting a weak signal and the noise level. With regard to sensory perception, an inverted U-shaped function between signal and noise is typically considered as the signature of stochastic resonance (SR) 4-7. Animal data suggest that the responses of hair cells, auditory-nerve fibers, and brainstem neurons to weak acoustic stimuli are enhanced by low levels of acoustic noise in a manner consistent with stochastic resonance 7-10. Human electrophysiological data suggest that noise can increase neural synchrony in the human auditory cortex, which, in turn, might lead to improved hearing performance 11. Furthermore, a few studies claim improvements in perceptual detection thresholds due to the application of low-level noise. This has been reported for normally hearing subjects 9,12 and for subjects having cochlear and brainstem implants 9. However, although this previous research argues for a beneficial effect of noise on auditory perception, to the best of our knowledge, none of the available studies provide robust evidence for SR in the human auditory system, ei...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inconsistent effects of stochastic resonance on human auditory processing

Rufener

Kauk

Ruhnau

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…However, until now the beneficial effect of adding external electrical random noise to neural activity has mainly been studied via behavioural outcome measures in humans or via physiological single cell studies in animals (Onorato et al 2016;Remedios et al 2019). By contrast, it is largely unknown whether tRNS causes acute benefits when applied in-vivo to neural populations within the cortex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation acutely lowers the response threshold of human motor circuits

Potok

Bächinger

Cretu

et al. 2020

Preprint

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SummaryTranscranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) over cortical areas has been shown to acutely improve performance in sensory detection tasks. One explanation for this behavioural effect is stochastic resonance, a mechanism that explains how signal processing in non-linear systems can benefit from added noise. While acute noise benefits of electrical random noise stimulation have been demonstrated at the behavioural level as well as in in vitro preparations of neural tissue, it is currently largely unknown whether similar effects can be shown at the neural population level using neurophysiological readouts of human cortex. Here we hypothesized that acute tRNS will increase the responsiveness of primary motor cortex (M1) when probed with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Neural responsiveness was operationalized via the well-known concept of the resting motor threshold (RMT). We showed that tRNS acutely decreases RMT. This effect was relatively small, but it was consistently replicated across four experiments including different cohorts (total N=81), two tRNS electrode montages, and different control conditions. Our experiments provide critical neurophysiological evidence that tRNS can acutely generate noise benefits by enhancing the neural population response of human M1. These new findings complement previous behavioural research which proposed that noise induced via tRNS can beneficially modulate neural processing.

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“…Furthermore, previous studies in artificial lipid bilayers reported that the application of an intermediate level of electrical noise augments the current magnitude throughout alamethicin channels (Bezrukov andVodyanoy, 1995, 1997b). As a first step, these findings motivated our laboratory to explore some indirect mechanistic questions regarding the effects of electrical noise on pyramidal neurons (Remedios et al, 2019). In such a previous study, we examined whether the direct-application of electrical noise on dissociated pyramidal neurons from the somatosensory cortex can also improve the Na + current amplitude elicited by voltage-clamp ramps (Remedios et al, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a first step, these findings motivated our laboratory to explore some indirect mechanistic questions regarding the effects of electrical noise on pyramidal neurons (Remedios et al, 2019). In such a previous study, we examined whether the direct-application of electrical noise on dissociated pyramidal neurons from the somatosensory cortex can also improve the Na + current amplitude elicited by voltage-clamp ramps (Remedios et al, 2019). We found that the application of an intermediate level of Brownian electrical noise stimulation on dissociated pyramidal neurons can produce an augmentation in the Na + current amplitude and a modulatory effect on its latency (Remedios et al, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In such a previous study, we examined whether the direct-application of electrical noise on dissociated pyramidal neurons from the somatosensory cortex can also improve the Na + current amplitude elicited by voltage-clamp ramps (Remedios et al, 2019). We found that the application of an intermediate level of Brownian electrical noise stimulation on dissociated pyramidal neurons can produce an augmentation in the Na + current amplitude and a modulatory effect on its latency (Remedios et al, 2019). Likewise, we demonstrated, experimentally and theoretically, with a Hodgkin-Huxley model, that such augmentation-effects are related to the impact of electrical noise on the kinetics of activation and inactivation of the Na + channels (Remedios et al, 2019).…”

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confidence: 99%

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