title: A novel ring electrode setup for the recording of somatosensory evoked potentials during transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).
abstract: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) modulates cortical excitability thereby influencing behavior and learning. While previous studies focused on tDCS after-effects, limited information about "online" tDCS effects is available. This in turn is an important prerequisite to better characterize and/or optimize tDCS effects. Here, we aimed to explore the feasibility of recording low-artifact somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) during tDCS using a novel ring electrode setup. We recorded SEP before, during and after 10 min of anodal or sham tDCS using a full-band direct current (DC) EEG system in a total number of 3 subjects. SEPs were recorded in the bore of the tDCS ring electrode. Using this approach, no tDCS-induced artifacts could be observed after the application of a standard EEG filter. This new setup might help to better characterize how tDCS alters evoked brain responses thus providing novel insight into underlying physiological effects during stimulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany. sehm@cbs.mpg.de
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sehm
authors.forename: Maike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoff
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gundlach
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taubert
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Conde
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villringer
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ragert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004566:Electrodes; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*