Dual-site beta transcranial alternating current stimulation during a bimanual coordination task modulates functional connectivity between motor areas. - 2025
Bimanual coordination; Functional connectivity; Interhemispheric connectivity; Premotor cortex; Primary motor cortex; Supplementary motor cortex; Transcranial alternating current stimulation; Humans; Male; Female; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Adult; Young Adult; Brain Mapping; Neural Pathways/physiology; Evoked Potentials, Motor/physiology; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation/methods; Motor Cortex/physiology; Psychomotor Performance/physiology; Evoked Potentials, Motor; Motor Cortex; Neural Pathways; Psychomotor Performance; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Neuroscience (all); Biophysics; Neurology (clinical)
Abstract :
[en] BACKGROUND: Communication within brain networks depends on functional connectivity. One promising approach to modulate such connectivity between cortical areas is dual-site transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), which non-invasively applies weak alternating currents to two brain areas.
OBJECTIVES: In the current study, we aimed to modulate inter-regional functional connectivity with dual-site tACS to bilateral primary motor cortices (M1s) during bimanual coordination and, in turn, alter behaviour.
METHODS: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we recorded participants' brain responses during a bimanual coordination task in a concurrent tACS-fMRI design. While performing a slow and fast version of the task, participants received one of three types of beta (20 Hz) dual-site tACS over both M1s: zero-phase, jittered-phase or sham, in a within-participant, repeated measures design.
RESULTS: While we did not observe any significant tACS effects on behaviour, the study revealed an attenuation effect of zero-phase tACS on interhemispheric connectivity. Additionally, the two active types of tACS (zero-phase and jittered-phase) differed in the task-related M1 connectivity with other motor cortical regions, such as premotor cortex and supplementary motor area. Furthermore, individual E-field strengths were related to functional connectivity in the zero-phase condition.
CONCLUSIONS: Dual-site beta tACS over both M1s altered functional connectivity between motor areas. However, this effect did not translate significantly to the behavioural level in the presence of a restricted sample size. Future studies may thus integrate mechanistic measures, such as measures of interhemispheric inhibition, to strengthen causal interpretations.
Disciplines :
Neurosciences & behavior
Author, co-author :
Gann, Mareike A ; Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Paparella, Ilenia ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Neurosciences - Sleep and chronobiology
Zich, Catharina; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, Department for Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK, Medical Research Council Brain Network Dynamics Unit, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Grigoras, Ioana-Florentina; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, Medical Research Council Brain Network Dynamics Unit, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Huertas-Penen, Silvana ; Biomedical Signals and Systems, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands
Rieger, Sebastian W ; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Thielscher, Axel; Section for Magnetic Resonance, DTU Health Tech, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark, Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sharott, Andrew; Medical Research Council Brain Network Dynamics Unit, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Stagg, Charlotte J; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, Medical Research Council Brain Network Dynamics Unit, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Schwab, Bettina C ; Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany, Biomedical Signals and Systems, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands. Electronic address: b.c.schwab@utwente.nl
Language :
English
Title :
Dual-site beta transcranial alternating current stimulation during a bimanual coordination task modulates functional connectivity between motor areas.
MRC - Medical Research Council DFG - German Research Foundation University of Oxford Wellcome Trust NIHR - National Institute for Health and Care Research F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique ERC - European Research Council Lundbeck Foundation
Funding text :
This work was supported by the German Research Foundation ( DFG , grant number SCHW 2023/2-1 to B.C.S.), the European Research Council ( ERC StG DECODE, grant number 101116047, to B.C.S.), the Medical Sciences Internal Fund: Pump-Priming (grant number 0011905 to A.S.) of the University of Oxford , the Medical Research Council UK (MC_UU_00003/6 to A.S.), a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship (224430/Z/21/Z to C.J.S), the Sofina Bo\u00EBl Fund for Education and Talent (to I.P.), the F.R.S.- FNRS (to I.P.), the National Institute for Health Research ( NIHR ) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR203316). A.T. was supported by the Lundbeck Foundation (grants R313-2019-622 and R244-2017-196) and the German Research Foundation (Research Unit 5429/1 (467143400), TH 1330/6-1 and TH 1330/7-1). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging is supported by core funding from the Wellcome Trust (203139/Z/16/Z and 203139/A/16/Z). For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript ( AAM ) version arising from this submission. Additionally, we acknowledge the receipt of software for using multiband fMRI sequences from the University of Minnesota Center for Magnetic Resonance Research.
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