Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34035240›Full record

ArticleNature communications2021

Transcranial alternating current stimulation entrains alpha oscillations by preferential phase synchronization of fast-spiking cortical neurons to stimulation waveform.

Wei A Huang, Iain M Stitt, Ehsan Negahbani, D J Passey, Sangtae Ahn, Marshall Davey, Moritz Dannhauer, Thien T Doan, Anna C Hoover, Angel V Peterchev and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
94citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
14.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

94 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 181 citations in OpenAlex.

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  20. Predicting spiking activity from scalp EEG.Journal of neural engineering · 2025
    Article

34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Wei A Huang *Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0054-7148
Iain M Stitt *Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Ehsan NegahbaniDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
D J PasseyCarolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9310-3361
Sangtae AhnDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9487-5649
Marshall DaveyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3909-9664
Moritz DannhauerDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8747-1021
Thien T DoanDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0431-6358
Anna C HooverDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Angel V PeterchevDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4385-065X
Susanne Radtke-SchullerDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Flavio FröhlichDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Flavio_frohlich@med.unc.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-3724-5621
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USDuke University · US

Funding

Rational Optimization of tACS for Targeting Thalamo-Cortical OscillationsR01MH111889 · NIMH · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI FROHLICH, FLAVIO · 2016 to 2019
$2.4M
Targeted circuit modulation to delineate the causal role of oscillatory interactions in top-down networks of cognitive controlR01MH122477 · NIMH · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI FROHLICH, FLAVIO · 2020 to 2024
$1.9M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH111889NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH122477
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Computational modeling and human studies suggest that transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) modulates alpha oscillations by entrainment. Yet, a direct examination of how tACS interacts with neuronal spiking activity that gives rise to the alpha oscillation in the thalamo-cortical system has been lacking. Here, we demonstrate how tACS entrains endogenous alpha oscillations in head-fixed awake ferrets. We first show that endogenous alpha oscillations in the posterior parietal cortex drive the primary visual cortex and the higher-order visual thalamus. Spike-field coherence is largest for the alpha frequency band, and presumed fast-spiking inhibitory interneurons exhibit strongest coupling to this oscillation. We then apply alpha-tACS that results in a field strength comparable to what is commonly used in humans (<0.5 mV/mm). Both in these ferret experiments and in a computational model of the thalamo-cortical system, tACS entrains alpha oscillations by following the theoretically predicted Arnold tongue. Intriguingly, the fast-spiking inhibitory interneurons exhibit a stronger entrainment response to tACS in both the ferret experiments and the computational model, likely due to their stronger endogenous coupling to the alpha oscillation. Our findings demonstrate the in vivo mechanism of action for the modulation of the alpha oscillation by tACS.

Indexed as

Alpha RhythmAnimalsComputer SimulationElectrodes, ImplantedElectroencephalographyFemaleFerretsInterneuronsMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMicroelectrodesModels, AnimalModels, NeurologicalNerve NetOptogeneticsThalamus

Identifiers

PMID34035240
PMCPMC8149416
OpenAlexW3164831953

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.