Transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates auditory temporal resolution in elderly people

Baltus, Alina; Vosskuhl, Johannes; Boetzel, Cindy; Herrmann, Christoph S.

doi:10.1111/ejn.13940

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 84 publications

(136 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…46 Studies have also reported that tDCS and tACS can influence performance on gap detection tasks, a common marker of central (vs. peripheral) auditory function. 47–50 Taken together, the available evidence suggests the potential for NIBS methods like tDCS to modulate central auditory processing. 51,52 Given that central auditory processing can be negatively impacted in several conditions (e.g., stroke, speech in noise difficulties, auditory processing disorder), this could reflect an untapped area of future translational research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Perceptual and cognitive effects of focal tDCS of auditory cortex in tinnitus

Leaver

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

OBJECTIVESNoninvasive brain stimulation continues to grow as an effective, low-risk way of improving the symptoms of brain conditions. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is particularly well-tolerated, with benefits including low cost and potential portability. Nevertheless, continued study of perceptual and cognitive side effects is warranted, given the complexity of functional brain organization. This paper describes the results of a brief battery of tablet-based tasks used in a recent pilot study of auditory-cortex tDCS in people with chronic tinnitus.METHODSVolunteers with chronic tinnitus (n=20) completed two hearing tasks (pure-tone thresholds, Words In Noise) and two cognitive tasks (Flanker, Dimension Change Card Sort) from the NIH Toolbox. Volunteers were randomized to active or sham 4×1 Ag/AgCl tDCS of auditory cortex, and tasks were completed immediately before and after the first tDCS session, and after the fifth/final tDCS session. Statistics included linear mixed-effects models for change in task performance over time.RESULTSBefore tDCS, performance on both auditory tasks was highly correlated with clinical audiometry, supporting the external validity of these measures (r2>0.89 for all). Although overall auditory task performance did not change after active or sham tDCS, detection of right-ear Words in Noise stimuli modestly improved after five active tDCS sessions (t(34)=-2.07, p=0.05). On cognitive tasks, reaction times were quicker after sham tDCS, reflecting expected practice effects (e.g., t(88)=3.22, p=0.002 after 5 sessions on Flanker task). However, reaction times did not improve over repeated sessions in the active group, suggesting that tDCS interfered with learning these practice effects.CONCLUSIONSRepeated sessions of auditory-cortex tDCS does not appear to adversely affect hearing or cognition, but may modestly improve hearing in noisy environments and interfere with some types of motor learning. Low-burden cognitive/perceptual test batteries could be a powerful way to identify adverse effects and new treatment targets in brain stimulation research.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Perceptual and cognitive effects of focal tDCS of auditory cortex in tinnitus

Leaver

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Considering the involvement of cerebellar theta activity in extinction of conditioned eyeblink responses based on animal studies ( Wang et al, 2014 , 2019 ), future research could still benefit from exploring simpler fear conditioning paradigms with non-invasive brain stimulation in the theta range. Furthermore, future studies could benefit from using personalized protocols known to have enhanced precision and effectiveness in targeting specific brain oscillation patterns, compared to fixed stimulation frequencies ( Del Felice et al, 2019 ; Baltus et al, 2020 ; Ayanampudi et al, 2022 ). Such investigations may provide clearer insights into the potential modulatory effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on fear learning and deepen our understanding of fear regulation mechanisms, potentially contributing to future therapeutic applications.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Absence of modulatory effects of 6Hz cerebellar transcranial alternating current stimulation on fear learning in men

Schellen,

Zeidan,

Ernst

et al. 2024

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fear is a vital defense mechanism to potential threats, which is influenced by the cerebellum. While the cerebellum’s role in acquiring fear responses is well understood, limited knowledge exists about its involvement in fear extinction. In this study, we investigated the effects of cerebellar theta band transcranial alternating current stimulation (ctACS) administered during fear extinction training, based on previous evidence from animal studies suggesting a role of cerebellar theta oscillations in associative memory formation. To this end, thirty-seven healthy right-handed male participants were recruited for a two-day differential fear renewal paradigm. On day 1, they underwent acquisition training in context A followed by extinction training in context B. On day 2, recall was tested in contexts A and B. One group of participants received ctACS in the theta band (6 Hz) during extinction training. The other group received sham ctACS. Although both groups demonstrated the ability to recall previously learned fear and distinguish between low and high threat stimuli, no significant differences were observed between the ctACS and sham groups, indicating that ctACS at this theta frequency range did not impact extinction and recall of previously acquired fear in this study. Nevertheless, using ctACS could still be useful in future research, including brain imaging studies, to better understand how the cerebellum is involved in fear and extinction processes.

show abstract

“…Finally, as neuromodulational techniques are increasingly used to change the state of the brain, the effect of neuromodulation on peak gamma frequencies was tested. However, the knowledge is still limited: Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) was reported to increase IGF [4,83,84], whereas transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) did not modulate IGF [85][86][87]. In addition, non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation was shown to decrease IGF [88].…”

Section: Brain Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual/Peak Gamma Frequency: What Do We Know?

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent years, the concept of individualized measures of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity has emerged. Gamma-band activity plays an important role in many sensory and cognitive processes. Thus, peak frequency in the gamma range has received considerable attention. However, peak or individual gamma frequency (IGF) is rarely used as a primary measure of interest; consequently, little is known about its nature and functional significance. With this review, we attempt to comprehensively overview available information on the functional properties of peak gamma frequency, addressing its relationship with certain processes and/or modulation by various factors. Here, we show that IGFs seem to be related to various endogenous and exogenous factors. Broad functional aspects that are related to IGF might point to the differences in underlying mechanisms. Therefore, research utilizing different types of stimulation for IGF estimation and covering several functional aspects in the same population is required. Moreover, IGFs span a wide range of frequencies (30–100 Hz). This could be partly due to the variability of methods used to extract the measures of IGF. In order to overcome this issue, further studies aiming at the optimization of IGF extraction would be greatly beneficial.

show abstract

Transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates auditory temporal resolution in elderly people

Cited by 7 publications

References 84 publications

Perceptual and cognitive effects of focal tDCS of auditory cortex in tinnitus

Perceptual and cognitive effects of focal tDCS of auditory cortex in tinnitus

Absence of modulatory effects of 6Hz cerebellar transcranial alternating current stimulation on fear learning in men

Individual/Peak Gamma Frequency: What Do We Know?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About