Phase-dependent effects of beta transcranial alternating current stimulation on corticospinal excitability

Abstract

The following work constitutes the result of my Ph.D. project, carried out at the Division of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery of the University of Tübingen. The work I have done is documented in three manuscripts I have completed during this period of time. The project focused on validating the ability of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to entrain beta sensorimotor rhythms. In the introduction, I will provide the background necessary to understand the impact of my work and the scientific questions that drove my research. I will thus describe the framework proposed to explain the functional role of brain oscillations and the research tools necessary to test its predictions. I will talk about tACS, and the putative mechanisms of interaction with these brain rhythms. Finally, I will describe the evidences of entrainment on sensory and motor systems. I will try to make my point that true evidence of entrainment is still sparse, and in the context of the motor system, insufficient. Thus, I will describe the three studies that composed my work, explaining how they are connected and how they contribute to the final goal. I will then conclude this work by including the three manuscripts I have produced with the support of my supervisor and other members of the team, as evidence of the work I have accomplished during my Ph.D.