Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Novel Methods of Transcranial Stimulation: Electrosonic Stimulation
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge Jarrett Rushmore, Uri Eden, Christopher Connor, Virgilio Villacorta, and Antoni Valero-Cabre for the work on the initial electrophysiology studies conducted as part of ( ). That material is based in part upon work supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under Contract No. W31P4Q-09-C-0117. The views, opinions, and/or findings expressed are those of the author(s) and should not be interpreted as representing the official views or policies of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. Additional work presented herein was also supported in part by Award Number R43NS062530, 1R44NS080632 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders And Stroke. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Institutes of Health.
Introduction
In this chapter, we present a novel form of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS), electrosonic stimulation. Electrosonic stimulation combines independently controllable electromagnetic and ultrasonic fields to boost neurostimulation currents via tuned electromechanical coupling in neural tissue. The coupling leads to enhanced stimulation focality, penetration, and targeting control, when compared to their single energy counterpart technologies. We briefly review state-of-the-art electromagnetic and ultrasound NIBS technologies as relevant comparisons to the electrosonic method; then, we present electrosonic stimulation.
Noninvasive Electromagnetic Methods
The two most commonly used electromagnetic-based techniques for NIBS are Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) ( ). TMS and tDCS take advantage of different electromagnetic principles to noninvasively modulate neural activity. TMS employs “focused,” pulsed magnetic fields to induce currents in the brain and influence cortical function. tDCS employs low amplitude, broadly distributed, direct currents, applied via scalp electrodes, to penetrate the skull and enter the brain to influence cortical function. TMS and tES have been used for numerous clinical and experimental applications, including treatment of depression, Parkinson’s Disease (PD), and chronic pain ( ).
You're Reading a Preview
Become a Clinical Tree membership for Full access and enjoy Unlimited articles
If you are a member. Log in here