title: Opposite effects of high- and low-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation probed with visual motion adaptation.
abstract: Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) is a recent neuro-modulation technique whose effects at both behavioural and neural level are still debated. Here we employed the well-known phenomenon of motion after-effect (MAE) in order to investigate the effects of high- vs. low-frequency tRNS on motion adaptation and recovery. Participants were asked to estimate the MAE duration following prolonged adaptation (20 s) to a complex moving pattern, while being stimulated with either sham or tRNS across different blocks. Different groups were administered with either high- or low-frequency tRNS. Stimulation sites were either bilateral human MT complex (hMT+) or frontal areas. The results showed that, whereas no effects on MAE duration were induced by stimulating frontal areas, when applied to the bilateral hMT+, high-frequency tRNS caused a significant decrease in MAE duration whereas low-frequency tRNS caused a significant corresponding increase in MAE duration. These findings indicate that high- and low-frequency tRNS have opposed effects on the adaptation-dependent unbalance between neurons tuned to opposite motion directions, and thus on neuronal excitability.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.|Human Inspired Technology Research Centre, University of Padova, Via Luzzati 4, 35122 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Campana
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Camilleri
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moret
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ghin
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pavan