The Brain Stimulation Journal:
Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation Feed. This feed contains the latest published articles, both articles that have been published in an issue as well as articles that have been published as Articles in Press.
- Seizure induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in an adolescent with migraine with auraWe report the following transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-induced seizure: ... read more
- Dry tDCS: Tolerability of a novel multilayer hydrogel composite non-adhesive electrode for transcranial Direct Current StimulationThe adoption of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is encouraged by portability and ease-of-use. However, the preparation of tDCS electrodes remains the most cumbersome and error-prone step. Here, we validate the performance of the first “dry” electrodes for tDCS. A “dry electrode” excludes 1) any saline or other electrolytes, that are prone to spread and leaving a residue; 2) any adhesive at the skin interface; or 3) any electrode preparation steps except the connection to the stimulator. ... read more
- Cortical map plasticity as a function of vagus nerve stimulation rateRepeatedly pairing a brief train of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) with an external event can reorganize the sensory or motor cortex. A 30 Hz train of sixteen VNS pulses paired with a tone significantly increases the number of neurons in primary auditory cortex (A1) that respond to tones near the paired tone frequency. The effective range of VNS pulse rates for driving cortical map plasticity has not been defined. ... read more
- Multi-session anodal tDCS enhances the effects of postural training on balance and postural stability in older adults with high fall risk: Primary motor cortex versus cerebellar stimulationPostural control impairment is a key target for rehabilitation of older adults with high fall risk. ... read more
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) for improving oromotor function in newbornsInfants born prematurely or who suffer a global hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) are at high risk for motor problems, which manifest as feeding delays during their hospital admission. Oromotor dyscoordination is common in these infants, and feeding difficulty is the primary reason for delayed discharge [1]. Many infants who do not master this motor skill before term age (40–42 weeks gestation) will receive a gastrostomy tube (G-tube) for direct gastric feeding. Furthermore, feeding difficulties in infants are associated with later language delays, even in the absence of gross motor impairment [2]. ... read more
- Psychophysical measurement of the effects and non-effects of TMS on contrast perceptionTranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is widely used to establish causal relationships between brain areas and behavior, but its effects on task performance are not fully understood and have rarely been directly compared between protocols. Decreases in performance on psychophysical tasks, such as those observed when applying TMS, can be attributed to either suppression of stimulus-related neural signals, increased random activity (i.e. neural noise), or a combination of both [1,2]. Indeed, evidence for all three hypotheses has been found when using differing methodologies and online stimulation protocols [3–5]. ... read more
- Opposite effects of lateralised transcranial alpha versus gamma stimulation on auditory spatial attentionSpatial attention relatively increases the power of neural 10-Hz alpha oscillations in the hemisphere ipsilateral to attention, and decreases alpha power in the contralateral hemisphere. For gamma oscillations (>40 Hz), the opposite effect has been observed. The functional roles of lateralised oscillations for attention are currently unclear. ... read more
- Transcutaneous nerve stimulation via the tragus: are we really stimulating the vagus nerve?Research on transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is accumulating. Several studies now assessed whether stimulating the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (ABVN) affects cognitive, emotional and neurological processes, similarly to the invasive stimulation of the vagus nerve at the cervix. Currently, the main areas that are targeted during auricular stimulation are the cymba concha and the tragus [1]. Recently, Badran et al. [2] published an important study on the brain activation patterns associated with tragus stimulation, showing that tragus stimulation was associated with stronger activation in afferent vagal cerebral areas compared to sham stimulation. ... read more
- Exhibition of stochastic resonance in vestibular tilt motion perceptionStochastic Resonance (SR) is a phenomenon broadly described as “noise benefit”. The application of subsensory electrical Stochastic Vestibular Stimulation (SVS) via electrodes behind each ear has been used to improve human balance and gait, but its effect on motion perception thresholds has not been examined. ... read more
- Boosting the LTP-like plasticity effect of intermittent theta-burst stimulation using gamma transcranial alternating current stimulationTranscranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) consists in delivering electric current to the brain using an oscillatory pattern that may entrain the rhythmic activity of cortical neurons. When delivered at gamma frequency, tACS modulates motor performance and GABA-A-ergic interneuron activity. ... read more