Neuromodulation - Science method

I can't find the reference for the "Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) Survey".

It is a questionnaire developed to assess the experience and training of healthcare professionals in the application of various non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), among others. The survey consists of 37 questions divided into five sections:

The questionnaire includes closed-ended, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions in each section, allowing for a detailed evaluation of the experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals regarding non-invasive neuromodulation techniques.

I have a patient whose lymph flow improves when she is wearing specific eyeglasses. Retinal stimulation alters neuromodulation via the retinohypothalamic tract, but I wondered if there is a cerebellar component (or vestibular or basal ganglia) to the fluid flow.... Thanks~

Hello! For our research we need to do simulations of GPI-anchored proteins in membrane with Martini force field. But we don't understand how to generate topology for protein with covalent modifications in Martini. Can you help? We are working with three-finger neuromodulators (Lynx1, Lynx2, Lypd6, Lypd6b). Thanks in advance!

Over the past two decades, many studies have been conducted with the aim of finding a way to moderate chronic tinnitus. In these studies, various methods such as transcranial magnetic stimulation have been used.

An important factor in choosing the right treatment method is that it has longer lasting effects. Among the methods of rTMS,TENS, tDCS and VNS, which one does have more long-term effects?

This study will be relatively small-scale, and will form part of my doctoral thesis. I am hoping to bilaterally stimulate the DLPFC in a group of cannabis users for a short duration, in order to assess whether craving can be temporarily modulated.

In much of the tDCS literature I have reviewed so far, the position of M1 for anodal tDCS is given as coincident with C3/C4. Likewise, the positon of primary somatosensory cortex S1 for cathodal tDCS is given as 2 cm posterior or occipital to C3/C4. But now I am reading "the course of the central sulcus (rolandic fissure) which separates the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe corresponds to thin lines touching CPz-C2-C4 and CPz-C1-C3, respectively, [& actually courses through the centers of C4 & C3, respectively.] The two gyri immediately neighboring the central sulcus are the primary motor cortex (in frontal direction), and primary sensory cortex (in occipital direction)."

If it is true that it is the central sulcus itself that is coincident with the C3/C4 positions and that primary sensory cortex is estimated at approx. 2 cm occipital/posterior, then why is primary motor cortex not estimated as 2 cm frontal / anterior? I have not seen this discussed anywhere in the literature I've reviewed so far.

I am also trying to match up the M1 & S1 homoncular maps with their approximately corresponding electrode positions, understanding that only one electrode position each intended to stimulate all of M1 or S1 is much too coarse for the application we have in mind. Does anyone have a reference they would be willing to share which ideally would match up the 10-20 electrode positions in the vicinity of C3/C4 with their approximately corresponding somatosensory & somatomotor functional homunculi with higher resolution & greater specificity?

Quite a few published researchers are using Amrex branded sponge electrodes with banana jack connections for 1x1 low resolution tDCS. We have attempted to use them & have encountered several problems including one serious safety problem.

The electrode in question is a 3" by 3" square non-conductive rubber frame containing conductive wire mesh overlaid with a removable coarse kitchen-type sponge that protrudes out of a 2" by 2" aperture when soaked in saline. The rubber frame is stiff & does not conform well to the curvature of the cranium, especially with smaller subjects. This in turn results in difficulty placing it accurately & reproducibly & also in making good & uniform electrical contact. Though the maximum contact area of the sponge on the scalp is ideally 4 in² (25 cm²), in practice it is considerably less & variable with only a central area of contact which can be approximated as a circular disc inscribed within the 2" by 2" square aperture. This leads in turn to the most serious problem:

Injected current levels up to 2.0 mA are routine in tDCS research. The research community generally accepts a current density limit of .08 mA/cm² for the safety of the subject's skin in contact with the electrode & also to minimize potential damage to the underlying brain tissue. Even if the 2" by 2" sponge made perfect contact with the skin, at the 2.0 mA injected current level the current density limit is reached, exactly, as bulk current density = current / cross-sectional contact area = 2.0 mA / 25 cm² = .08 mA/cm². But these electrodes do not make perfect contact even when the they are secured tightly because of the rigid frames enclosing the sponges. So the contact area is rather less, resulting in the denominator being smaller and the current density necessarily exceeding the safety limit. Even at somewhat lower levels of injected current, taking the variable contact area of the sponges into account, the current density could easily exceed the safety limit. Furthermore, this is a very coarse bulk analysis. Taking nonhomogeneity, edge & corner effects into account, local areas of unacceptably high current density are unavoidable & can be demonstrated convincibly with a more sophisticated analysis (one using finite element methods for example).

Yet another practical problem with these electrodes is they have a strong & pungent odor which research subjects find objectionable, penetrates their hair & endures on the electrodes even after successive washings. If one electrode is placed supraorbitally, as is a common position in tDCS, the obnoxious smell in close proximity to the subject's nose even has the potential to affect the outcome of the experiment because it induces stress & stress-related neurological activity that has the potential to confound results.

Hello researchers,

I'm planning to apply tACS on the scalp in corrispondence of two different cortical areas by using a multi-channel device (Enobio/Starstim, neuroelectrics) . Thus, I will use three electrodes, two "active" and one "return", but I'm wondering whether the value of the current intensity might be devided between the two "active" electrodes. For example, is 2mA of amplitude splitted in 1mA for active electrode 1 and 1mA for active electrode 2.?

May you suggest any work where I could find information about this issue?

Thank you in advance for any answer you may provide.

Gabriele

I am very interested in start this discussion with you colleages about binaural/monaural beats and isochronic tones for neuromodulating brain signals.

I would like to know if you consider this type of stimulation real or a scam, their potential clinic applications, if their effects are maintained and if there is any harmful effect (such as seizures).

I have not found many studies about this treatment. It has been approved by FDA based on very preliminary evidence. How much time does FDA take in general to approve a treatment in mental health field?

Although we can measure serotonin in peripheral blood, it may not reflect its activity in the central nervous system. Pupil dilation may serve as a marker for noradrenaline changes, but I can't think about one for serotonin. Is there a peripheral marker for changes in serotonergic drive?

Cheers

Hello. I would like to publish an RCT protocol in a restricted-access (no-fee) journal, in the area of neuromodulation and obesity. Any ideas?

Hi everyone,

I would like to find a relation between several cortical parameters I extracted from sMRI data (as gyrification, sulci depth, thickness of grey matter) and behavior. Does anyone know if there is an atlas or something similar (papers, references,...) that I can use?

Thank you very much!

Edoardo

Dear ResearchGate,

Im in the look out for a highly viscous eeg/tACS gel and donut shaped tCS rubber carbon electrodes needed for my sleep study. Both of these are demonstrated in https://www.jove.com/video/53527/concurrent-electroencephalography-recording-during-transcranial

In regards to the donut shaped tCS electrodes i can't find them anywhere. Does anyone know who sells them? Additionally, is it safe to make them by hole punching a circular tCS electrode?

In regards to viscuous gel i've found some options but they either dont show/tell how viscuous it is or . Does anyone have any recommended brands?

Thank you for your help!

Regards,

Achilleas

Hey, I have a pulser from Prizmatix but i am not sure how to program it to generate different pulses of 1-200 Hz.

it would be nice if someone can have good idea about it.

thanks

Can anyone tell whether 30Hz TBS may be used as an equivalent of 50Hz TBS? Some researchers (e.g. Wu et al.) suggest that the effects of 30Hz TBS at higher intensities (90 or 100% RMT) are roughly the same as compared to those when 50Hz is applied. The question is simply practical. Our stimulator is capable of reaching 50Hz only when the intensity is set at max 30%, which limits the number of potential subjects. Does any of you use 30Hz TBS? Thanks in advance.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) induces an electrical field in the target zone of the brain, polarizing or depolarizing neurons. Actually tDCS protocols only consider current, time and sometimes current density as main variables to design therapeutic paradigms. Brain is a highly anysotropic mass and electrical fields, which are responsable of neuromodulation, are hardly calculated.

How to measure oxytocin from 6-month old infants?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a neurostimulation and neuromodulation technique that has provided over two decades of data in focal, non-invasive brain stimulation based on the principles of electromagnetic induction. Its minimal risk, excellent tolerability and increasingly sophisticated ability to interrogate neurophysiology and plasticity make it an enviable technology for use in pediatric research with future extension into therapeutic trials. While adult trials show promise in using TMS as a novel, non-invasive, non-pharmacologic diagnostic and therapeutic tool in a variety of nervous system disorders, its use in children is only just emerging.

An interesting paper has been published on Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences.

The title is: Is there still a role for lesioning in functional neurosurgery: the Italian experience of delivering focused ultrasound high energy through a 1,5 tesla MR apparatus

Is there still a role for lesioning in functional neurosurgery?

Is neuromodulation a real "no lesion" treatment?

i would like to inject substance P intravenously in rats. i will use Substance P acetate salt hydrate from sigma-Aldrich. is it better to dissolve in water or saline. is it better to use intraperitoneal route.

Can you recommend materials on the subject mentioned in the questions' title for someone who just starts his journey with computer modelling of dynamic complex systems, such as nervous system? The question is asked  particularly in the context of current distribution over the brain matter, scalp, and skin, applied e.g in the tDCS, tACS or tRNS protocols. Thank you in advance.

So to be a bit more specific, i'm looking for channels that are affected by 5-HT1a. Are there any resources, books etc.

Thank you for your help!

I'm looking for an (in vivo) optogenetics setup to illuminate one hemisphere of the mice brain with one light (i.e. blue for ChR2) and the other with a different wavelength (i.e. green for eArch3.0) using different patterns of stimulation. I have got some quotes from different companies but there are too many options to evaluate and I'm still not sure about what's the best:

1) Laser vs LED based system

2) Normal LED vs miniaturized LED

3) How much power (mW or mW/mm2) do I need at the end of the cannula for efficient stimulation of these channel?

Any comments will be very appreciated.

I know UPDRS is the standard rating for clinical follow up. I am interested in any knowledge about imaging data or other means to quantify disease progression that is independant of clinical evaluation.

tDCS is a technique I am going to be using as part of MSc and throughout my PhD and I am interested in the successes/failures people have had using this technique, experimentally (e.g., manipulating performance on specific tasks, improving outcomes for patients with brain damage).

other than ITB, Spinal Cord Stimulation, FES