ArticleJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2026
EEG-defined differences in functional networks following beta-band transcranial alternating current stimulation in patients with disorders of consciousness: a pilot study.
Article in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
backgroundSevere disruption of cortico-thalamocortical circuits underlies disorders of consciousness (DOC). Beta-band (20 Hz) transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can be used to probe frontal oscillatory synchrony, yet its potential to acutely modulate large-scale network dynamics in DOC is unknown.
methodsWe applied 20 Hz tACS (1 mA) for 30 min over the frontal cortex (F3 and F4, International 10-20 system) in 28 patients with DOC. Offline functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to quantify hemoglobin (HbO)-based functional connectivity (FC) and graph-theoretical network properties, including small-world properties (clustering coefficient, C
resultsFrontal 20 Hz tACS was associated with transient enhancement of FC across the measured cortical network at post-stim1 (pFDR < 0.05), selectively strengthening intra-and interhemispheric and intra-nodal connectivity before resolving by post-stim2. Crucially, the effects were pathology-dependent, and visual-motor integration pathways (right occipital lobe to left motor cortex; right primary somatosensory cortex to left occipital lobe) emerged exclusively in DOC patients with moderately abnormal background but not in those with diffuse slowing. Concurrent acute network reorganization at post-stim1 (all p < 0.05) featured increased C
conclusionsFrontal beta-tACS was associated with state-dependent changes in functional network organization in DOC, with dynamic fNIRS measures that may be useful for tracking these changes. These findings provide preliminary descriptive evidence of short-term network changes associated with beta-tACS and may help guide future controlled studies of targeted neuromodulation in patients with DOC.
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