LSA Fellows 7

Project titel: Temporal interference brain stimulation - advanced control and advanced application Project leader: Dr. Philipp Ruhnau

Brain oscillations are connected to numerous cognitive functions. Accordingly, many neurological disorders go along with an underlying dysfunction of cortical oscillations. One cost-effective therapeutic approach is non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) using alternating currents (transcranial alternating current stimulation, tACS), which aims to enhance rhythms that are impaired. However, typical tACS suffers from shortcomings as it is limited to regions close to the electrodes and once attached the target of stimulation is fixed.

In this project I aim to evaluate a novel method of non-invasive brain stimulation with a promising high level of flexibility, which offers the potential of non-invasive deep brain stimulation. Furthermore, the target of the stimulation can be shifted within the same session and setup, which adds a high level of flexibility. Here, I aim to test the principles of this method in healthy human subjects to show (1) that temporal interference (TI) can interact with behavior, (2) that TI can interact with ongoing brain oscillations.

These, but particularly the second question, are essential for the potential clinical use of this method. The mechanisms of TI need to be explored on the cortical level first, since we can rely on previous NIBS literature. My results will form the basis for a number of clinical applications, were engaging with dysfunctional rhythms is essential not only cortically but also in subcortical regions.