Wang Xiaojuan, Zhang Xiaochen, Chang Yuan, Liao Jingmeng, Liu Shuang, Ming Dong
Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Transl Psychiatry. 2025 Jan 30;15(1):36. doi: 10.1038/s41398-025-03256-z.
Gamma oscillations are essential for brain communication. The 40 Hz neural oscillation deficits in schizophrenia impair left frontotemporal connectivity and information communication, causing auditory hallucinations. Transcranial alternating current stimulation is thought to enhance connectivity between different brain regions by modulating brain oscillations. In this work, we applied a frontal-temporal-parietal 40 Hz-tACS stimulation strategy for treating auditory hallucinations and further explored the effect of tACS on functional connectivity of brain networks. 32 schizophrenia patients with refractory auditory hallucinations received 20daily 20-min, 40 Hz, 1 mA sessions of active or sham tACS on weekdays for 4 consecutive weeks, followed by a 2-week follow-up period without stimulation. Auditory hallucination symptom scores and 64-channel electroencephalograms were measured at baseline, week2, week4 and follow-up. For clinical symptom score, we observed a significant interaction between group and time for auditory hallucinations symptoms (F(3,90) = 26.964, p < 0.001), and subsequent analysis showed that the 40Hz-tACS group had a higher symptom reduction rate than the sham group at week4 (p = 0.036) and follow-up (p = 0.047). Multiple comparisons of corrected EEG results showed that the 40Hz-tACS group had higher functional connectivity in the right frontal to parietal (F (1,30) = 7.24, p = 0.012) and right frontal to occipital (F (1,30) = 7.98, p = 0.008) than the sham group at week4. Further, functional brain network controllability outcomes showed that the 40Hz-tACS group had increased average controllability (F (1,30) = 6.26, p = 0.018) and decreased modality controllability (F (1,30) = 6.50, p = 0.016) in the right frontal lobe compared to the sham group. Our polit study indicates that 40Hz-tACS combined with medicine may be an effective treatment for targeting symptoms specific to auditory hallucinations and altering functional connectivity and controllability at the network level.
伽马振荡对大脑交流至关重要。精神分裂症患者中40赫兹神经振荡缺陷会损害左额颞叶连接性和信息交流，导致幻听。经颅交流电刺激被认为可通过调节脑振荡来增强不同脑区之间的连接性。在这项研究中，我们应用额颞顶叶40赫兹经颅交流电刺激策略来治疗幻听，并进一步探究经颅交流电刺激对脑网络功能连接性的影响。32名患有难治性幻听的精神分裂症患者在工作日连续4周每天接受20分钟、40赫兹、1毫安的主动或伪经颅交流电刺激，随后是为期2周的无刺激随访期。在基线、第2周、第4周和随访时测量幻听症状评分和64导脑电图。对于临床症状评分，我们观察到幻听症状在组和时间之间存在显著交互作用（F(3,90) = 26.964，p < 0.001），随后的分析表明，40赫兹经颅交流电刺激组在第4周（p = 0.036）和随访时（p = 0.047）的症状减轻率高于伪刺激组。校正脑电图结果的多重比较显示，40赫兹经颅交流电刺激组在第4周时右额叶到顶叶（F(1,30) = 7.24，p = 0.012）和右额叶到枕叶（F(1,30) = 7.98，p = 0.008）的功能连接性高于伪刺激组。此外，功能性脑网络可控性结果表明，与伪刺激组相比，40赫兹经颅交流电刺激组右额叶的平均可控性增加（F(1,30) = 6.26，p = 0.018），模态可控性降低（F(1,30) = 6.50，p = 0.016）。我们的初步研究表明，40赫兹经颅交流电刺激联合药物可能是针对幻听特定症状并在网络水平改变功能连接性和可控性的有效治疗方法。
