Academic Journal
EEG microstates reveal differential network dynamics under constant current and oscillatory brain stimulation.
| Τίτλος: | EEG microstates reveal differential network dynamics under constant current and oscillatory brain stimulation. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Griškova-Bulanova I; Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Translational Health Research Institute, Žaliųjų ež. str. 2, Vilnius LT-08406, Lithuania. Electronic address: inga.griskova-bulanova@gf.vu.lt., Tarailis P; Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Translational Health Research Institute, Žaliųjų ež. str. 2, Vilnius LT-08406, Lithuania., Živanović M; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Institute of Psychology, University of Belgrade, Čika Ljubina 18-20, Belgrade, Serbia., Filipović S; Centre for Neuroscience and Neuromodulation, University of Belgrade, Institute for Medical Research, Dr Subotića 4, POB 39, Belgrade, Serbia., Bjekić J; Centre for Neuroscience and Neuromodulation, University of Belgrade, Institute for Medical Research, Dr Subotića 4, POB 39, Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: jovana.bjekic@imi.bg.ac.rs. |
| Πηγή: | NeuroImage [Neuroimage] 2026 Aug 01; Vol. 336, pp. 122007. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 16. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Academic Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9215515 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1095-9572 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10538119 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Neuroimage Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Orlando, FL : Academic Press, c1992- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation*/methods , Electroencephalography*/methods , Brain*/physiology , Nerve Net*/physiology, Humans ; Female ; Male ; Adult ; Cross-Over Studies ; Young Adult |
| Περίληψη: | Background: EEG microstates are brief, quasi-stable scalp topographies that index large-scale network dynamics and may sensitively capture the net effects of transcranial electrical stimulation (tES). Objective: To evaluate differential effects of three types of tES - tDCS, tACS and oscillatory tDCS (otDCS) on canonical EEG microstates (A-D) in healthy adults. Methods: In a randomized, sham-controlled, crossover study, 42 participants completed four sessions (tDCS, tACS, otDCS, sham). Stimulation (20 min) used a P3-cheek montage: tDCS +1.5 mA; tACS at individualized theta frequency (ITF, 4-8 Hz), ±1 mA; otDCS anodal with ±0.5 mA oscillation around +1.5 mA at ITF. A five-minute resting EEG (eyes closed then eyes open) was recorded pre- and post-intervention. Microstates were extracted (A-D), back-fitted, and assessed on duration, occurrence, contribution, and mean GFP using linear mixed-effects models with sham and pre/post adjustments. Results: Four canonical microstates explained ∼80% of the variance with stable topographies across conditions. Modulation patterns were modality-specific. MS A (sensory/arousal) increased across all active protocols, strongest after otDCS. MS B (visual-autobiographical) was consistently suppressed, again most following otDCS. MS C (self-referential) decreased selectively after oscillatory stimulation (tACS, otDCS) only. MS D (executive/attention) diverged by waveform: enhanced by tACS and otDCS but reduced by tDCS. Across outcomes, otDCS produced the largest and most widespread effects with overlapping features of both tDCS (tonic/stabilizing) and tACS (oscillatory/entraining). Conclusions: Resting-state EEG microstates provide a sensitive systems-level assay of tES aftereffects. Constant and oscillatory current waveforms affect network states in dissociable ways, with otDCS exerting the most robust, comprehensive modulation. These findings support microstates as practical biomarkers for differentiating, optimizing, and monitoring neuromodulation strategies. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: EEG microstates; Individualized theta frequency; Neuromodulation; Oscillatory tDCS (otDCS); Resting-state EEG; Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS); Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260517 Date Completed: 20260612 Latest Revision: 20260617 |
| Update Code: | 20260617 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2026.122007 |
| PMID: | 42144044 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1095-9572 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2026.122007 |