EEG alpha activity in response to Transcutaneous Electrical Nervous Stimulation in healthy young subjects and in the healthy elderly subjects

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is used not only in the treatment of pain but also in the examination of sensory functions. With aging, there is decreased sensitivity to somatosensory stimuli. It is essential to examine the effect of TENS application on the sensory functions in the brain by recording the spontaneous EEG activity and the effect of aging on the sensory functions of the brain during the application. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the application of TENS on the brain’s electrical activity and the effect of aging on the sensory functions of the brain during application of TENS. 15 young and 14 elderly subjects were included in the study. Spontaneous EEG was recorded from 32 channels during TENS application. Power spectrum analysis was performed by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) in the alpha frequency band (8-13 Hz) for all subjects. The study was approved by The Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Istanbul Medipol University (Ethical report no: 10840098-604.01.01-E.6805). All participants signed an informed consent form.<br>

经皮神经电刺激（Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation，TENS）不仅可用于疼痛治疗，还可应用于感觉功能检测。随着年龄增长，人体对躯体感觉刺激的敏感性会出现下降。亟需通过记录自发脑电活动，探究经皮神经电刺激对大脑感觉功能的影响，以及刺激过程中衰老对大脑感觉功能的作用。本研究旨在探讨经皮神经电刺激对大脑电活动的影响，以及刺激过程中衰老对大脑感觉功能的作用。本研究共纳入15名青年受试者与14名老年受试者。在经皮神经电刺激过程中，通过32导联采集受试者的自发脑电信号。针对所有受试者的α频段（8~13Hz）脑电数据，采用快速傅里叶变换（Fast Fourier Transform，FFT）进行功率谱分析。本研究已获得伊斯坦布尔梅迪波尔大学非介入性临床研究伦理委员会批准（伦理报告编号：10840098-604.01.01-E.6805）。所有受试者均签署了知情同意书。