Multielectrode Cortical Stimulation Selectively Induces Unidirectional Wave Propagation of Excitatory Neuronal Activity in Biophysical Neural Model.

Cortical stimulation is emerging as an experimental tool in basic research and a promising therapy for a range of neuropsychiatric conditions. As multielectrode arrays enter clinical practice, the possibility of using spatiotemporal patterns of electrical stimulation to induce desired physiological patterns has become theoretically possible, but in practice can only be implemented by trial-and-error because of a lack of predictive models. Experimental evidence increasingly establishes traveling waves as fundamental to cortical information-processing, but we lack an understanding of how to control wave properties despite rapidly improving technologies. This study uses a hybrid biophysical-anatomical and neural-computational model to predict and understand how a simple pattern of cortical surface stimulation could induce directional traveling waves via asymmetric activation of inhibitory interneurons. We found that pyramidal cells and basket cells are highly activated by the anodal electrode and minimally activated by the cathodal electrodes, while Martinotti cells are moderately activated by both electrodes but exhibit a slight preference for cathodal stimulation. Network model simulations found that this asymmetrical activation results in a traveling wave in superficial excitatory cells that propagates unidirectionally away from the electrode array. Our study reveals how asymmetric electrical stimulation can easily facilitate traveling waves by relying on two distinct types of inhibitory interneuron activity to shape and sustain the spatiotemporal dynamics of endogenous local circuit mechanisms. Electrical brain stimulation is becoming increasingly useful to probe the workings of brain and to treat a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, stimulation is currently performed in a trial-and-error fashion as there are no methods to predict how different electrode arrangements and stimulation paradigms will affect brain functioning. In this study, we demonstrate a hybrid modeling approach, which makes experimentally testable predictions that bridge the gap between the microscale effects of multielectrode stimulation and the resultant circuit dynamics at the mesoscale. Our results show how custom stimulation paradigms can induce predictable, persistent changes in brain activity, which has the potential to restore normal brain function and become a powerful therapy for neurological and psychiatric conditions.