Methodological and Cognitice Aspects of transcranial Electrical Stimulation

by Zsolt Turi
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2015-03-24
Date of issue:2017-04-06
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Andrea Antal
Referee:Prof. Dr. Jochen Staiger
Referee:Prof. Dr. Alexander Gail
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-5673

 

 

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Abstract

English

Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) techniques are based on the external application of low-intensity electrical current to the brain. The external current can modulate cortical excitability by depolarizing or hyperpolarizing resting membrane potentials, thereby modulating the spontaneous firing rate, as is the case with tDCS. In transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), the externally applied alternating current is thought to entrain endogenous neural oscillations, possibly by increasing the power of the oscillations or entraining the endogenous oscillations. Evaluating the functional consequences of external manipulations makes tES techniques uniquely suitable for causal inference in human experiments, an interpretation process intended to separately identify causes and consequences. In my thesis, I present three published papers that investigate the methodological  and cognitive aspects of tES. In the first paper, I focus on the effect of frequency in evoking cutaneous and phosphene perceptions during tACS. In my second paper, I present my findings regarding the effect of electrode size on evoking cutaneous sensations during tDCS. In the last paper, I explore the effect of prefrontal tDCS on instrumental learning. 
Keywords: transcranial electrical stimulation; transcranial direct current stimulation; transcranial alternating current stimulation; instrumental learning; cognition
 
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