The safety and efficacy of applying a high-current temporal interference electrical stimulation in humans

Yan Wang; Ginger Qinghong Zeng; Mengmeng Wang; Mingsong Zhang; Chuangchuang Chang; Qiongwei Liu; Keqing Wang; Ru Ma; Ying Wang; Xiaochu Zhang

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2024.1484593

The safety and efficacy of applying a high-current temporal interference electrical stimulation in humans

Front Hum Neurosci. 2024 Nov 29:18:1484593. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1484593. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yan Wang^#^{1

2}, Ginger Qinghong Zeng^#³, Mengmeng Wang^{1

2}, Mingsong Zhang^{2

3}, Chuangchuang Chang^{2

3}, Qiongwei Liu², Keqing Wang², Ru Ma², Ying Wang^{2

4}, Xiaochu Zhang^{1

2

3

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ School of Mental Health, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, China.
² Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
³ Application Technology Center of Physical Therapy to Brain Disorders, Institute of Advanced Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
⁴ Anhui Provincial Stereotactic Neurosurgical Institute, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Disease Hefei, Hefei, China.
⁵ Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
⁶ Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Temporal interference electrical stimulation (TI) is promise in targeting deep brain regions focally. However, limited electric field intensity challenges its efficacy.

Objective: This study aimed to introduce a high-current TI electrical stimulation protocol to enhance its intensity and evaluate its safety and efficacy when applied to the primary motor cortex (M1) in the human brain.

Methods: Safety assessments included a battery of biochemical and neuropsychological tests (NSE, MoCA, PPT, VAMS-R, and SAS measurements), 5-min resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) recordings before and after 30-min high-current TI electrical stimulation sessions (20 Hz, 70 Hz, sham). Adverse reactions were also documented post-stimulation. Efficacy evaluations involved two motor tasks, the simple reaction time (SRT) task and the one-increment task, to investigate the distinct contributions of beta (20 Hz) and gamma (70 Hz) oscillations to motor functions.

Results: Biochemical and neuropsychological tests revealed no significant differences between the groups. Additionally, no epileptic activities were detected in the EEG recordings. In the one-increment task, 20 Hz stimulation delayed participants' reaction time compared to the 70 Hz and sham groups. Conversely, in the SRT task, 70 Hz stimulation exhibited a tendency to enhance participants' performance relative to the sham group.

Conclusion: The proposed high-current TI electrical stimulation is both safe and effective for stimulating the human brain. Moreover, the distinct effects observed in motor tasks underscore the dissociative roles of beta and gamma oscillations in motor functions, offering valuable insights into the potential applications of high-current TI electrical stimulation in brain stimulation research.

Keywords: efficacy; high-current TI electrical stimulation; motor function; noninvasive brain stimulation; safety; transcranial electrical stimulation.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by grants from the Chinese National Programs for Brain Science and Brain-like Intelligence Technology (2021ZD0202101 to XZ), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32171080, 71942003, 32161143022, and 31900766 to XZ), Major Project of Philosophy and Social Science Research, Ministry of Education of China (19JZD010 to XZ), CAS-VPST Silk Road Science Fund 2021 (GLHZ202128 to XZ), Anhui Provincial Key Research and Development Project (202004b11020013 to XZ), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32200914 to GQZ).