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Description
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique widely used in neuroscience to investigate and improve cognitive abilities. Inhibition, a cognitive function that allows stopping an ongoing action, and associated with beta-band (13-30 Hz) oscillations in the right inferior frontal gyrus, could be enhanced via tACS when stimulation frequency matches subject’s endogenous beta frequency. A growing body of evidence supports the importance of considering the electroencephalography (EEG) aperiodic (“1/f”) activity when studying brain electrical activity, as it can bias neural oscillations’ estimations. Since aperiodic activity has been associated with cognition, perception, or development, we aim to investigate if it can be modulated by tACS. Here, we will test the effect of subject-specific beta-tACS on aperiodic activity in healthy subjects. We will record high-resolution EEG (HR-EEG) from 35 healthy controls (HCs) both in resting-state and during an inhibition task pre- and post- stimulation. As the study is ongoing, only the preliminary results from the first 8 HCs are presented, organized into experimental groups labeled as ‘0’ or ‘1’ corresponding either to real or sham stimulation without knowledge of their specific conditions. An apparent decrease in both aperiodic parameters after stimulation in the experimental group ‘0’, while only a change in offset appeared in the experimental condition ‘1’. Although the existing literature suggests that aperiodic activity could be modulated by tACS, the absence of statistical analysis currently prevents any interpretation. Full data acquisition and analysis are expected by June 2025, with complete results presented at BioEM2025.
