Background

Brain stimulation has emerged as a powerful tool in human neuroscience, becoming integral to next-generation psychiatric and neurologic therapeutics. Theta-burst stimulation (TBS), in which electrical pulses are delivered in rhythmic bouts of 3–8 Hz, seeks to recapitulate neural activity seen endogenously during cognitive tasks. A growing literature suggests that TBS can be used to alter or enhance cognitive processes, but little is known about how these stimulation events influence underlying neural activity.

Objective

Our study sought to investigate the effect of direct electrical TBS on mesoscale neural activity in humans by asking (1) whether TBS evokes persistent theta oscillations in cortical areas, (2) whether these oscillations occur at the stimulated frequency, and (3) whether stimulation events propagate in a manner consistent with underlying functional and structural brain architecture.

Methods

We recruited 20 neurosurgical epilepsy patients with indwelling electrodes and delivered direct cortical TBS at varying locations and frequencies. Simultaneous iEEG was recorded from non-stimulated electrodes and analyzed to understand how TBS influences mesoscale neural activity.

Results

We found that TBS rapidly evoked theta rhythms in widespread brain regions, preferentially at the stimulation frequency, and that these oscillations persisted for hundreds of milliseconds post stimulation offset. Furthermore, the functional connectivity between recording and stimulation sites predicted the strength of theta response, suggesting that underlying brain architecture guides the flow of stimulation through the brain.

Conclusions

By demonstrating that cortical TBS induces frequency-specific oscillatory responses, our results suggest this technology can be used to directly and predictably influence the activity of cognitively-relevant brain networks.

中文翻译：

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Theta-burst 刺激带来特定频率的振荡反应

背景

脑刺激已成为人类神经科学的强大工具，成为下一代精神病学和神经学疗法不可或缺的一部分。Theta-burst 刺激 (TBS)，其中电脉冲以 3-8 Hz 的节律性发作，旨在概括在认知任务期间内源性看到的神经活动。越来越多的文献表明，TBS 可用于改变或增强认知过程，但对于这些刺激事件如何影响潜在的神经活动知之甚少。

客观的

我们的研究试图通过询问（1）TBS 是否在皮层区域引起持续的θ振荡，（2）这些振荡是否以受刺激的频率发生，以及（3）是否刺激来研究直接电 TBS 对人类中尺度神经活动的影响。事件以与潜在的功能和结构性大脑结构一致的方式传播。

方法

我们招募了 20 名具有留置电极的神经外科癫痫患者，并以不同的位置和频率提供直接皮质 TBS。从非刺激电极记录同步 iEEG 并进行分析以了解 TBS 如何影响中尺度神经活动。

结果

我们发现 TBS 在广泛的大脑区域迅速唤起 theta 节律，优先在刺激频率下，并且这些振荡在刺激偏移后持续数百毫秒。此外，记录和刺激位点之间的功能连接预测了θ反应的强度，这表明潜在的大脑结构指导了刺激通过大脑的流动。

结论

通过证明皮质 TBS 诱导频率特异性振荡反应，我们的结果表明，该技术可用于直接且可预测地影响认知相关大脑网络的活动。