title: Probing phase- and frequency-dependent characteristics of cortical interneurons using combined transcranial alternating current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation.
abstract: Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and peripheral stimulation combined with TMS can be used to study cortical interneuronal circuitry. By combining these procedures with concurrent transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), Guerra and colleagues recently showed that different cortical interneuronal populations are differentially modulated by the phase and frequency of tACS-imposed oscillations (Guerra A, Pogosyan A, Nowak M, Tan H, Ferreri F, Di Lazzaro V, Brown P.Cerebral Cortex26: 3977-2990, 2016). This work suggests that different cortical interneuronal populations can be characterized by their phase and frequency dependency. Here we discuss how combining TMS and tACS can reveal the frequency at which cortical interneuronal populations oscillate, the neuronal origins of behaviorally relevant cortical oscillations, and how entraining cortical oscillations could potentially treat brain disorders.
authors.affiliation: Human Cortical Physiology and Neurorehabilitation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; and.
authors.forename: Sara J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: Human Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland nivethida.thirugnanasambandam@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Nivethida
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thirugnanasambandam
mesh_terms: D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology*; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*
keywords: brain oscillations; entrainment; transcranial alternating current stimulation; transcranial magnetic stimulation