Thinking on the classification of non-invasive brain stimulation as neuromodulation technique

Abstract

Neuromodulation techniques have gradually evolved from electrical or chemical methods to various physical stimulation techniques including electricity, magnetism, sound, light, heat, and more. However, the clinical efficacy and mechanisms of each stimulation technique or paradigm vary greatly. To facilitate the understanding of the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of different neuromodulation techniques, combined with current clinical practice, the author takes the classification of non-invasive transcranial electrical stimulation as an example and proposes the idea of using energy magnitude as the primary classification and different media/stimulation routes as the secondary classification. This classification emphasizes the energy essence of various physical stimuli, followed by the transmission carriers of physical stimuli. This classification method helps to guide and design neuromodulation paradigms for different target symptoms in various brain disorders, which is beneficial for better serving clinical diagnosis and treatment. The Expert Forum also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various neuromodulation technologies and their clinical applications.