PURPOSE OF REVIEW Electric stimulation is a potent means of neuromodulation that has been used to restore hearing and minimize tremor, but its application on tinnitus symptoms has been limited. We examine recent evidence to identify the knowledge gaps in the use of electric stimulation for tinnitus treatment. RECENT FINDINGS Recent studies using electric stimulation to suppress tinnitus in hu...

There are currently two techniques to manipulate brain function non-invasively: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). These brain stimulation techniques work to cause long-term change within the brain. We have been combining noninvasive brain stimulation with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the plasticity of brain...

Our view is that intelligence, as expression of the complexity of the human brain and of its evolutionary path, represents an intriguing example of "system level brain plasticity": tangible proofs of this assertion lie in the strong links intelligence has with vital brain capacities as information processing (i.e., pure, rough capacity to transfer information in an efficient way), resilience (i...

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is used to modulate brain oscillations to measure changes in cognitive function. It is only since recently that brain activity in human subjects during tACS can be investigated. The present study aims to investigate the phase relationship between the external tACS signal and concurrent brain activity. Subjects were stimulated with tACS at indi...

Deep brain stimulation is a rapidly expanding therapy initially designed for the treatment of movement disorders and pain syndromes. The therapy includes implantation of electrodes in specific targets of the brain, delivering programmable small and safe electric impulses, like a pacemaker, that modulates both local and broad neurologic networks. The effects are thought to primarily involve a fo...

Noninvasive brain stimulation is being widely investigated to understand and modulate human brain function, and offers novel therapeutic approaches to neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Here, we focus on the growing interest in the potential of noninvasive brain stimulation, particularly transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES), to enhance cognitive abilities in healthy individuals through ...

For >20 years, noninvasive transcranial stimulation techniques like repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and direct current stimulation (tDCS) have been used to induce neuroplastic-like effects in the human cortex, leading to the activity-dependent modification of synaptic transmission. Here, we introduce a novel method of electrical stimulation: transcranial random noise stimula...

Tools for noninvasive stimulation of the brain, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), have provided new insights in the study of brain-behavior relationships due to their ability to directly alter cortical activity. In particular, TMS and tDCS have proven to be useful tools for establishing causal relationships between behavioral and...

VNS has been proposed for treatment-resistant depression. A single, randomized controlled trial found no significant difference between real and sham VNS after 10 weeks. However, open studies suggest that prolonged treatment may be beneficial. Similar to other investigational neuromodulation techniques [e.g. transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), deep brain stimulation (DBS)], interpretation ...

This study provides support for the hypothesis that treatment response to an initial course of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for depression predicts the magnitude of response to a subsequent course of rTMS in the setting of symptom relapse.