Abstract
Subdural cortical stimulation (SuCS) is an appealing method in the treatment of neurological disorders, and computational modeling studies of SuCS have been applied to determine the optimal design for electrotherapy. To achieve a better understanding of computational modeling on the stimulation effects of SuCS, the influence of anisotropic white matter conductivity on the activation of cortical neurons was investigated in a realistic head model. In this paper, we constructed pyramidal neuronal models (layers 3 and 5) that showed primary excitation of the corticospinal tract, and an anatomically realistic head model reflecting complex brain geometry. The anisotropic information was acquired from diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) and then applied to the white matter at various ratios of anisotropic conductivity. First, we compared the isotropic and anisotropic models; compared to the isotropic model, the anisotropic model showed that neurons were activated in the deeper bank during cathodal stimulation and in the wider crown during anodal stimulation. Second, several popular anisotropic principles were adapted to investigate the effects of variations in anisotropic information. We observed that excitation thresholds varied with anisotropic principles, especially with anodal stimulation. Overall, incorporating anisotropic conductivity into the anatomically realistic head model is critical for accurate estimation of neuronal responses; however, caution should be used in the selection of anisotropic information.
Highlights
Electrical cortical stimulation (CS) is an intriguing electrotherapy designed to expedite neuronal modulation in the brain cortex through the regulated input of current
To investigate the influence of anisotropic conductivity on neuronal activation, we compared the effects of simulating the anisotropic and isotropic conductivity using the anatomically realistic head model
To investigate the effects of the anisotropic model compared to the isotropic model, we introduced the principle of fixed value anisotropy, choosing eigenvalues reported by Wongsarnpiggon et al [34,48]
Summary
Electrical cortical stimulation (CS) is an intriguing electrotherapy designed to expedite neuronal modulation in the brain cortex through the regulated input of current. It has been applied as a treatment for chronic pain [1,2,3,4], rehabilitation [5,6,7,8], Parkinson’s disease [2,9,10,11], essential tremor [2], and other brain disorders [12,13]. Effects of Anisotropy on Activation of Cortical Neurons in Subdural CS reported that invasive approaches provide performance superior to noninvasive methods in such disabilities as chronic pain and movement disorders [12]. SuCS is less invasive than deep brain stimulation (DBS) and can be an alternative to ECS for some patients who suffer from advanced cortical atrophy due to duro-cortical separation
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