Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, 950-3198, Japan.
Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, 950-3198, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2023 Feb 21;13(1):3014. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-30261-3.
Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) of the primary sensory or motor cortex can improve sensorimotor functions by enhancing circuit excitability and processing fidelity. However, tRNS is reported to have little effect on higher brain functions, such as response inhibition when applied to associated supramodal regions. These discrepancies suggest differential effects of tRNS on the excitability of the primary and supramodal cortex, although this has not been directly demonstrated. This study examined the effects of tRNS on supramodal brain regions on somatosensory and auditory Go/Nogo task performance, a measure of inhibitory executive function, while simultaneously recording event-related potentials (ERPs). Sixteen participants received sham or tRNS stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in a single-blind crossover design study. Neither sham nor tRNS altered somatosensory and auditory Nogo N2 amplitudes, Go/Nogo reaction times, or commission error rates. The results suggest that current tRNS protocols are less effective at modulating neural activity in higher-order cortical regions than in the primary sensory and motor cortex. Further studies are required to identify tRNS protocols that effectively modulate the supramodal cortex for cognitive enhancement.
经颅随机噪声刺激（tRNS）作用于初级感觉或运动皮层，可以通过增强回路兴奋性和处理保真度来改善感觉运动功能。然而，当应用于相关的超模态区域时，tRNS 据报道对更高的大脑功能几乎没有影响，例如反应抑制。这些差异表明 tRNS 对初级和超模态皮层兴奋性的影响不同，尽管这尚未得到直接证明。本研究通过同时记录事件相关电位（ERP），考察了 tRNS 对超模态脑区在体感和听觉 Go/Nogo 任务表现（抑制执行功能的衡量标准）中的影响。在一项单盲交叉设计研究中，16 名参与者接受了假刺激或 tRNS 刺激背外侧前额叶皮层。无论是假刺激还是 tRNS 都没有改变体感和听觉 Nogo N2 振幅、Go/Nogo 反应时或错误率。结果表明，目前的 tRNS 方案在调节高级皮质区域的神经活动方面不如调节初级感觉和运动皮层那么有效。需要进一步的研究来确定能够有效调节超模态皮层以增强认知的 tRNS 方案。
