Abstract
Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is a method for the study of cognitive function that is quickly gaining popularity. It bypasses the correlative approaches of other imaging techniques, making it possible to establish a causal relationship between cognitive processes and the functioning of specific brain areas. Like lesion studies, NIBS can provide information about where a particular process occurs. However, NIBS offers the opportunity to study brain mechanisms beyond process localisation, providing information about when activity in a given brain region is involved in a cognitive process, and even how it is involved. When using NIBS to explore cognitive processes, it is important to understand not only how NIBS functions but also the functioning of the neural structures themselves. We know that NIBS techniques have the potential to transiently influence behaviour by altering neuronal activity, which may have facilitatory or inhibitory behavioural effects, and these alterations can be used to understand how the brain works. Given that NIBS necessarily involves the relatively indiscriminate activation of large numbers of neurons, its impact on a neural system can be easily understood as modulation of neural activity that changes the relation between noise and signal. In this review, we describe the mutual interactions between NIBS and brain activity and provide an updated and precise perspective on the theoretical frameworks of NIBS and their impact on cognitive neuroscience. By transitioning our discussion from one aspect (NIBS) to the other (cognition), we aim to provide insights to guide future research.
Highlights
Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) methods, which include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial electric stimulation, are used in cognitive neuroscience to induce transient changes in brain activity and thereby alter the behaviour of the subject
This effect could be interpreted as the generation of background neural activity by TMS, activity that is unrelated with respect to the relevant information/signal carried by the stimulated area (Fig. 1b NIBS high coherence)
We propose that the response properties described here present a very useful way to understand the impact of NIBS on brain function and behavioural performance
Summary
Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) methods, which include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial electric stimulation (tES), are used in cognitive neuroscience to induce transient changes in brain activity and thereby alter the behaviour of the subject. The final effects of NIBS on the central nervous system depend on a lengthy list of parameters (e.g., frequency, temporal characteristics, intensity, geometric configuration of the coil/electrode, current direction), when it is delivered before (offline) or during (on-line) the task as part of the experimental procedure (e.g., Jacobson et al, 2011; Nitsche and Paulus, 2011; Sandrini et al, 2011) These factors interact with several variables related to the anatomy (e.g., properties of the brain tissue and its location, Radman et al, 2007), as well as physiological (e.g., gender and age, Landi and Rossini, 2010; Lang et al, 2011; Ridding and Ziemann, 2010) and cognitive (e.g., Miniussi et al, 2010; Silvanto et al, 2008; Walsh et al, 1998) states of the stimulated area/subject. We believe that our perspective offers increased explanatory power for NIBS-induced effects, and will provide added impetus for future applications
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