The use of non-invasive brain stimulation methods to modulate brain waves associated with movement of the hand

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive method to monitor brain activity. It has been well established that during motor task execution, decreases in the EEG signal spectral power within the beta frequency band (15\u201329Hz) occur. This phenomenon is thought to reflect increased excitability of neurons in sensorimotor areas and is termed Event-related Desynchronization (ERD). Moreover, it has been found that ERD is correlated with motor performance, and abnormal ERD patterns have been observed in different populations (e.g. elderly subjects and patients with Parkinson Disease). Our objective is to investigate the influence of non-invasive brain stimulation methods, i.e. transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) on the baseline ERD. Successful outcome will in turn help to investigate the use of non-invasive brain stimulation in motor recovery for patients with neuro-regenerative diseases.Fifteen healthy, young subjects will be recruited to participate in the study. The participants will be required to come to the Brain Research and Imaging for Neurorehabilitation (BRAIN) Lab in the Davis House for experiment. Experiment for each subject is composed of 5 sessions \u2013 1 per week \u2013 for a total of 5 weeks. Each session lasts about 1.5hr. The 5 sessions are further divided into four experimental sessions and one sham session: In the experimental sessions, participants will receive one kind of brain stimulation (20Hz, 70Hz) while performing a hand-grip motor task. In the sham session, participants will only receive brain stimulation for around 30s to creative the same tingling feeling as in other sessions. All subjects will undergo four experimental sessions and one sham session and will perform handgrips in order to obtain ERD values pre-, during and post-stimulation. All of the procedures used in the study are non-invasive, and the necessary equipment will be provided by funds from the principal investigators.