Dr. Bikson was interviewed in City College of New York for VICE News Tonight’s Technology segment. The video was aired on HBO on March 30th, 2017. Enter the password tdcsnews to watch the short 7 minutes clip from the VICE News telecast.
Prof. Luca Parra (CCNY Biomedical Engineering), On Brainwaves and Videos and Video Games
Thursday, February 09, 2017, 03:30 PM, NAC 4/156
What are the immediate neural response of the brain to natural stimuli, in particular audiovisual narratives and video games? To answer this question we record EEG while subjects are exposed to the identical audiovisual narratives and measure inter-subject correlation, which captures how similarly and reliably different people respond to the same natural stimulus. We find that inter-subject correlation of EEG is strongly modulated by attention, correlates with long term memory, and provides a quantitative estimate for “audience engagement”. In children and adolescents watching videos we find changes with age and gender that are consistent with an increase in diversity of brain responses as they mature. During video game play, which are unique experiences that preclude correlation across subjects, we measure the strength of stimulus-response correlations instead. We found that correlation with both auditory and visual responses drive the correlation observed between subjects for video and that they are are modulated by attention in video game play. Importantly, the strongest response to visual and auditory features had nearly identical neural origin suggesting that the dominant response of the brain to natural stimuli is supramodal.
Congrats on Yu (Andy) Huang, Marom Bikson, and Lucas Parra’s paper on TES model validation accepted to be published on eLife. Also thank Anli Liu’s team from NYU School of Medicine for all the experimental recordings.
Measurements and models of electric fields in the in vivo human brain during transcranial electric stimulation
Here is the link to the paper, and a summary video.
OR Download the PDF here
CORRECTION NOTICE: Published on February 15, 2018
“Whats wrong with tDCS”?
Thursday March 16th at 9:30 AM at Alexandria East 901
Remotely Supervised Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Increases the Benefit of At-Home Cognitive Training in Multiple Sclerosis
Neuromodulation. 2017 Feb 22. doi: 10.1111/ner.12583. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 28225155
Leigh Charvet, PhD; Michael Shaw, BS; Bryan Dobbs, MS; Ariana Frontario, BS; Kathleen Sherman, MS; Marom Bikson, PhD; Abhishek Datta, PhD; Lauren Krupp, MD; Esmail Zeinapour, MS; Margaret Kasschau, BS
Full paper PDF
Objective: To explore the efficacy of remotely-supervised transcranial direct current stimulation (RS-tDCS) paired with cognitive training (CT) exercise in participants with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: In a feasibility study of RS-tDCS in MS, participants completed ten sessions of tDCS paired with CT (1.5 mA 3 20 min, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex montage). RS-tDCS participants were compared to a control group of adults with MS who underwent ten 20-min CT sessions through the same remotely supervised procedures. Cognitive outcomes were tested by composite scores measuring change in performance on standard tests (Brief International Cognitive Assessment in MS or BICAMS), basic attention (ANT-I Orienting and Attention Networks, Cogstate Detection), complex attention (ANT-I Executive Network, Cogstate Identification and One-Back), and intra-individual response variability (ANT-I and Cogstate identification; sensitive markers of disease status). Results: After ten sessions, the tDCS group (n 5 25) compared to the CT only group (n 5 20) had significantly greater improvement in complex attention (p 5 0.01) and response variability (p 5 0.01) composites. The groups did not differ in measures of basic attention (p 5 0.95) or standard cognitive measures (p 5 0.99). Conclusions: These initial findings indicate benefit for RS-tDCS paired with CT in MS. Exploratory analyses indicate that the earliest tDCS cognitive benefit is seen in complex attention and response variability. Telerehabilitation using RS-tDCS combined with CT may lead to improved outcomes in MS.
Chen CF, Bikson M, Chou LW, Shan C, Khadka N, Chen WS, Fregni F.
Download: PDF Published in Nature, Scientific Reports DOI
Abstract
It is well established that electrical-stimulation frequency is crucial to determining the scale of induced neuromodulation, particularly when attempting to modulate corticospinal excitability. However, the modulatory effects of stimulation frequency are not only determined by its absolute value but also by other parameters such as power at harmonics. The stimulus pulse shape further influences parameters such as excitation threshold and fiber selectivity. The explicit role of the power in these harmonics in determining the outcome of stimulation has not previously been analyzed. In this study, we adopted an animal model of peripheral electrical stimulation that includes an amplitude-adapted pulse train which induces force enhancements with a corticospinal contribution. We report that the electrical-stimulation-induced force enhancements were correlated with the amplitude of stimulation power harmonics during the amplitude-adapted pulse train. This is a pilot, but important first demonstration that power at high order harmonics in the frequency spectrum of electrical stimulation pulses may contribute to neuromodulation, thus warrant explicit attention in therapy design and analysis.
Scientists, entrepreneurs in Chicago area tackle ‘brain hacking’
March 3, 2017, by Ted Gregory
Link to article
Selection: “Marom Bikson is optimistic and pragmatic. A biomedical engineering professor and co-director of Neural Engineering at the City College of New York, Bikson said it is clear that tDCS can change the brain. Many prospective users are unwilling to wait for lengthy human trials and related research before trying the technology.
“Among scientists who are incredulous or skeptical, the concern is often that we’re moving too fast,” Bikson said. But people who are suffering from depression, chronic pain and cognitive decline “have a different time scale,” he said. “They don’t have 10 years, and I don’t blame them for looking for alternatives.”
Shown equipment by Soterix Medical.
Wall Street Journal, Feb 24, 2017
By TOMIO GERON
Full article link
Abridged article:
Hacking software or network-connected devices is so 21st century. A new crop of forward-thinking entrepreneurs wants to hack the ultimate computer: the brain.
Enhancing or altering the brain with technology may sound like a concept for the cyborgs of science fiction, but Silicon Valley startups are already at it—with venture capitalists’ backing. A range of noninvasive wearable devices have hit the consumer market using electrical stimulation to sharpen physical and mental performance or to improve relaxation….
Interest in brain devices fits squarely within Silicon Valley’s ever-growing do-it-yourself biohacking and quantified-self movement, where people obsessively measure everything from their carbohydrate intake to mental acuity to sleep patterns. And the trend ties in with popular millennial pursuits like meditation, mindfulness and nontraditional remedies including nootropics.
In Silicon Valley, where tech executives are always seeking an edge, brain hackers have found a willing market for experimentation as a natural extension of that impulse.
Los Gatos, Calif.-based Thync has raised about $23 million from Noosphere Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, according to PitchBook. The company says its $199 device can improve sleep and reduce stress. It second version, due out this spring, attaches to the back of the neck instead of the head….
Several startups’ devices rely on sending electric pulses into the brain, a process called tDCS that hasn’t been approved for medical use in the U.S. While that stimulation has been found safe in a laboratory environment, the benefits in consumer devices are unclear because of a lack of independent studies, according to Rachel Wurzman, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania’s Laboratory for Cognition and Neural Stimulation….
Startup Halo Neuroscience’s headset aims to improve athletic performance. The device sends electric fields into the brain’s motor cortex, creating a state of “hyperplasticity” which, when combined with athletic training, helps the brain more quickly build circuitry to interact with muscles, improving technique and explosiveness, said co-founder and Chief Executive Daniel Chao.
Users wear the $749 device, which looks like a pair of headphones, for 20 minutes before a workout. The San Francisco company has raised $9 million from Lux Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Jazz Venture Partners, SoftTech VC and Xfund. Its athlete-endorsers include Demario Davis of the Cleveland Browns and T.J. Carrie of the Oakland Raiders.
Halo has focused on professional athletes but is targeting consumers who are performance athletes or enthusiasts, as opposed to casual athletes, said Mr. Chao, who previously worked at a medical-device startup that used electric stimulation to treat epilepsy….
While the use of brain stimulation is based on genuine science, it doesn’t necessarily back up marketing by consumer brands, said Marom Bikson, a professor of biomedical engineering at the City College of New York, who has done studies on Thync and co-founded medical-device startup Soterix Medical.
“There’s unquestionably scientific studies done in controlled environments that suggest that tDCS can change cognition and change how people think or can change learning,” Mr. Bikson said. “Some claims may be made by some companies that are maybe more advanced than where a lot of the scientists may be comfortable.”
The Atlantic features work supported by Bikson lab and Soterix Medical at NYU to treat MS Fatigue with TDCS at home.
Zapping Your Brain at Home to Cure Fatigue
How a low dose of electrical current is helping some patients overcome tiredness and cognition problems
Read the story link
De Paolis A, Bikson M, Nelson JT, de Ru JA, Packer M, Cardoso L. Analytical and numerical modeling of the hearing system: advances towards the assessment of hearing damage. Hear Res. pii: S0378-5955(16)30278-7. doi: 10.1016/j.heares.2017.01.015. 2017
Full paper: Cardoso_Hearing_2017
Computational models of Bitemporal, Bifrontal and Right Unilateral ECT predict differential stimulation of brain regions associated with efficacy and cognitive side effects.
Bai S, Gálvez V, Dokos S, Martin D, Bikson M, Loo C.
Eur Psychiatry. 2016 Dec 29;41:21-29. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.09.005. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 28049077
Full paper: 10.1016@j.eurpsy.2016.09.005
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Extensive clinical research has shown that the efficacy and cognitive outcomes of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are determined, in part, by the type of electrode placement used. Bitemporal ECT (BT, stimulating electrodes placed bilaterally in the frontotemporal region) is the form of ECT with relatively potent clinical and cognitive side effects. However, the reasons for this are poorly understood.
OBJECTIVE: This study used computational modelling to examine regional differences in brain excitation between BT, Bifrontal (BF) and Right Unilateral (RUL) ECT, currently the most clinically-used ECT placements. Specifically, by comparing similarities and differences in current distribution patterns between BT ECT and the other two placements, the study aimed to create an explanatory model of critical brain sites that mediate antidepressant efficacy and sites associated with cognitive, particularly memory, adverse effects.
METHODS: High resolution finite element human head models were generated from MRI scans of three subjects. The models were used to compare differences in activation between the three ECT placements, using subtraction maps.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In this exploratory study on three realistic head models, Bitemporal ECT resulted in greater direct stimulation of deep midline structures and also left temporal and inferior frontal regions. Interpreted in light of existing knowledge on depressive pathophysiology and cognitive neuroanatomy, it is suggested that the former sites are related to efficacy and the latter to cognitive deficits. We hereby propose an approach using binarised subtraction models that can be used to optimise, and even individualise, ECT therapies
Mechanisms and Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Dose-Response: An International Journal January-March 2017:1-22 DOI: 10.1177/1559325816685467
James Giordano, Marom Bikson, Emily S. Kappenman, Vincent P. Clark, H. Branch Coslett, Michael R. Hamblin, Roy Hamilton, Ryan Jankord, Walter J. Kozumbo, R. Andrew McKinley, Michael A. Nitsche, J. Patrick Reilly, Jessica Richardson, Rachel Wurzman, and Edward Calabrese
Abstract: The US Air Force Office of Scientific Research convened a meeting of researchers in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, engineering, and medicine to discuss most pressing issues facing ongoing research in the field of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and related techniques. In this study, we present opinions prepared by participants of the meeting, focusing on the most promising areas of research, immediate and future goals for the field, and the potential for hormesis theory to inform tDCS research. Scientific, medical, and ethical considerations support the ongoing testing of tDCS in healthy and clinical popu- lations, provided best protocols are used to maximize safety. Notwithstanding the need for ongoing research, promising appli- cations include enhancing vigilance/attention in healthy volunteers, which can accelerate training and support learning. Commonly, tDCS is used as an adjunct to training/rehabilitation tasks with the goal of leftward shift in the learning/treatment effect curves. Although trials are encouraging, elucidating the basic mechanisms of tDCS will accelerate validation and adoption. To this end, biomarkers (eg, clinical neuroimaging and findings from animal models) can support hypotheses linking neurobiological mechanisms and behavioral effects. Dosage can be optimized using computational models of current flow and understanding dose–response. Both biomarkers and dosimetry should guide individualized interventions with the goal of reducing variability. Insights from other applied energy domains, including ionizing radiation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and low-level laser (light) therapy, can be prudently leveraged.
Thursday, February 09, 2017, 03:30PM, The City College of New York (CCNY) NAC 4/156
Prof. Luca Parra (CCNY Biomedical Engineering), On Brainwaves and Videos and Video Games
What are the immediate neural response of the brain to natural stimuli, in particular audiovisual narratives and video games? To answer this question we record EEG while subjects are exposed to the identical audiovisual narratives and measure inter-subject correlation, which captures how similarly and reliably different people respond to the same natural stimulus. We find that inter-subject correlation of EEG is strongly modulated by attention, correlates with long term memory, and provides a quantitative estimate for “audience engagement”. In children and adolescents watching videos we find changes with age and gender that are consistent with an increase in diversity of brain responses as they mature. During video game play, which are unique experiences that preclude correlation across subjects, we measure the strength of stimulus-response correlations instead. We found that correlation with both auditory and visual responses drive the correlation observed between subjects for video and that they are are modulated by attention in video game play. Importantly, the strongest response to visual and auditory features had nearly identical neural origin suggesting that the dominant response of the brain to natural stimuli is supramodal.
Congrats on Yu (Andy) Huang and Lucas Parra’s paper on TES model validation accepted to be published on eLife. Also thank Anli Liu’s team from NYU School of Medicine for all the experimental recordings.
Here is the link to the preprint online, and a summary video.
Human cochlear hydrodynamics: A high-resolution μCT-based finite element study
Annalisa De Paolis, Hirobumi Watanabe, Jeremy T. Nelson, Marom Bikson, Mark Packer, Luis Cardoso
Journal of Biomechanics 50 (2017) 209–216
PDF: Human cochlear hydrodynamics Journal Link
Abstract: Measurements of perilymph hydrodynamics in the human cochlea are scarce, being mostly limited to the fluid pressure at the basal or apical turn of the scalae vestibuli and tympani. Indeed, measurements of fluid pressure or volumetric flow rate have only been reported in animal models. In this study we imaged the human ear at 6.7 and 3-mm resolution using mCT scanning to produce highly accurate 3D models of the entire ear and particularly the cochlea scalae. We used a contrast agent to better distinguish soft from hard tissues, including the auditory canal, tympanic membrane, malleus, incus, stapes, ligaments, oval and round window, scalae vestibule and tympani. Using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach and this anatomically correct 3D model of the human cochlea, we examined the pressure and perilymph flow velocity as a function of location, time and frequency within the auditory range. Perimeter, surface, hydraulic diameter, Womersley and Reynolds numbers were computed every 45° of rotation around the central axis of the cochlear spiral. CFD results showed both spatial and temporal pressure gradients along the cochlea. Small Reynolds number and large Womersley values indicate that the perilymph fluid flow at auditory frequencies is laminar and its velocity profile is plug-like. The pressure was found 102–106° out of phase with the fluid flow velocity at the scalae vestibule and tympani, respectively. The average flow velocity was found in the sub-mm/s to nm/s range at 20–100 Hz, and below the nm/s range at 1–20 kHz.
Khadka N, Zannou AL, Zunura F, Truong DQ, Dmochowski J, Bikson M
______________________________________
Download PDF Published in Neuromodulation DOI
Abstract
Objective: To assess if transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) produces a temperature change at the skin surface, if any change is stimulation polarity (anode or cathode) specific, and the contribution of passive heating (joule heat) or blood flow on such change.
Material and Methods: Temperature differences (ΔTs) in an agar phantom study and an in vivo study (forearm stimulation) including 20 volunteers with both experimental measures and finite element method (FEM) multiphysics prediction (current flow and bioheat) models of skin comprising three tissue layers (epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous layer with blood perfusion) or of the phantom for active stimulation and control cases were compared. Temperature was measured during pre, post, and stimulation phases for both phantom and subject’s forearms using thermocouples.
Results: In the phantom, ΔT under both anode and cathode, compared to control, was not significantly different and less than 0.1°C. Stimulation of subjects resulted in a gradual increase in temperature under both anode and cathode electrodes, compared to control (at t = 20 min: ΔTanode = 0.9°C, ΔTcathode = 1.1°C, ΔTcontrol = 0.05°C). The FEM phantom model predicted comparable maximum ΔT of 0.27°C and 0.28°C (at t = 20 min) for the control and anode/cathode cases, respectively. The FEM skin model predicted a maximum ΔT at t = 20 min of 0.98°C for control and 1.36°C under anode/cathode electrodes.
Conclusions: Taken together, our results indicate a moderate and nonhazardous increase in temperature at the skin surface during 2 mA tDCS that is independent of polarity, and results from stimulation induced blood flow rather than joule heat.
Published in the same issue of Brain Stimulation.
—- Direct Current Stimulation Alters Neuronal Input/Output Function.
Lafon B, Rahman A, Bikson M, Parra LC. Brain Stimul. 2016 Sep 1. pii: S1935-861X(16)30248-0. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2016.08.014.
PDF: IO_tDCS_2017
— Direct Current Stimulation Modulates LTP and LTD: Activity Dependence and Dendritic Effects
Kronberg G, Bridi M, Abel T, Bikson M, Parra LC Brain Stimul. 2016 10 (2017) 51–58
PDF: Dendrites_tDCS_2017
Front. Hum. Neurosci., 12 January 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00695
Cerebellar tDCS: A Novel Approach to Augment Language Treatment Post-stroke
People with post-stroke aphasia may have some degree of chronic deficit for which current rehabilitative treatments are variably effective. Accumulating evidence suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may be useful for enhancing the effects of behavioral aphasia treatment. However, it remains unclear which brain regions should be stimulated to optimize effects on language recovery. Here, we report on the therapeutic potential of right cerebellar tDCS in augmenting language recovery in SMY, who sustained bilateral MCA infarct resulting in aphasia and anarthria. We investigated the effects of 15 sessions of anodal cerebellar tDCS coupled with spelling therapy using a randomized, double-blind, sham controlled within-subject crossover trial. We also investigated changes in functional connectivity using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging before and 2 months post-treatment. Both anodal and sham treatments resulted in improved spelling to dictation for trained and untrained words immediately after and 2 months post-treatment. However, there was greater improvement with tDCS than with sham, especially for untrained words. Further, generalization to written picture naming was only noted during tDCS but not with sham. The resting state functional connectivity data indicate that improvement in spelling was accompanied by an increase in cerebro-cerebellar network connectivity. These results highlight the therapeutic potential of right cerebellar tDCS to augment spelling therapy in an individual with large bilateral chronic strokes.
Full paper: fnhum-10-00695 Journal link: Link
Conference information
NYC Neuromodulation 2017 will focus on technologies and mechanism for advanced brain stimulation in areas that include transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), deep brain stimulation (DBS), and other emerging areas. Applications span treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, neurorehabilitation, and performance enhancement. Interactive lectures from key opinion leaders and emerging young scientists, poster sessions with abstracts published in Brain Stimulation and extensive opportunities to network with colleagues, along with an exhibit showcase featuring the latest neuromodulation technologies are all part of the main conference agenda.
This conference is among the most forward-looking neuromodulation meetings with the goal of advancing innovation from bench-top to bedside and home. Given the increased media, public, and commercial interest in personal non-invasive brain stimulation, the 2017 meeting will emphasize emerging “consumer” technologies, and their scientific and regulatory barriers. The off-label use of new clinical protocols will be addressed from scientific, medical, and regulatory perspectives. The conference will also focus on timely and novel targets of neuromodulation including glia, as well as new waveforms including high-rate (10 kHz) stimulation. Representatives from funding agencies and journal editors will be available to discuss priorities. NYC Neuromodulation is the largest meeting focused on non-invasive neuromodulation in North America, but this year it considers the role of invasive and non-invasive techniques in the continuum of care.
Chair: Marom Bikson
Front. Hum. Neurosci., 12 January 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00695
Cerebellar tDCS: A Novel Approach to Augment Language Treatment Post-stroke
People with post-stroke aphasia may have some degree of chronic deficit for which current rehabilitative treatments are variably effective. Accumulating evidence suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may be useful for enhancing the effects of behavioral aphasia treatment. However, it remains unclear which brain regions should be stimulated to optimize effects on language recovery. Here, we report on the therapeutic potential of right cerebellar tDCS in augmenting language recovery in SMY, who sustained bilateral MCA infarct resulting in aphasia and anarthria. We investigated the effects of 15 sessions of anodal cerebellar tDCS coupled with spelling therapy using a randomized, double-blind, sham controlled within-subject crossover trial. We also investigated changes in functional connectivity using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging before and 2 months post-treatment. Both anodal and sham treatments resulted in improved spelling to dictation for trained and untrained words immediately after and 2 months post-treatment. However, there was greater improvement with tDCS than with sham, especially for untrained words. Further, generalization to written picture naming was only noted during tDCS but not with sham. The resting state functional connectivity data indicate that improvement in spelling was accompanied by an increase in cerebro-cerebellar network connectivity. These results highlight the therapeutic potential of right cerebellar tDCS to augment spelling therapy in an individual with large bilateral chronic strokes.
