Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Working Memory Ability in Healthy People: An EEG Microstate Study
Background:Working memory (WM) is a core cognitive function closely linked to various cognitive processes including language, decision making, and reasoning. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, has been shown to modulate cognitive abilitie...
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2025-04-01
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| author | Binbin Gao Jinyan Zhang Jianxu Zhang Guangying Pei Tiantian Liu Li Wang Shintaro Funahashi Jinglong Wu Zhilin Zhang Jian Zhang |
| author_facet | Binbin Gao Jinyan Zhang Jianxu Zhang Guangying Pei Tiantian Liu Li Wang Shintaro Funahashi Jinglong Wu Zhilin Zhang Jian Zhang |
| author_sort | Binbin Gao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background:Working memory (WM) is a core cognitive function closely linked to various cognitive processes including language, decision making, and reasoning. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, has been shown to modulate cognitive abilities and treat psychiatric disorders. Although gamma tACS (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS) has demonstrated positive effects on WM, its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. Methods: In this study, we employed electroencephalogram (EEG) microstate analysis to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS effects on WM performance. Healthy participants (N = 104) participated in two-back and three-back WM tasks before and after two types (sine and triangular) of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS, with sham stimulation as a control. Results: Our results revealed that <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS improved performance in both the two-back and three-back tasks, with triangular <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS showing greater accuracy improvement in the three-back task than the sham group. Furthermore, <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS significantly modulated EEG microstate dynamics, specifically downregulating microstate Class C and upregulating microstate Classes D and B. These changes were positively correlated with reduced reaction times in the three-back task. Conclusions: Our findings establish microstate analysis as an effective approach for evaluating <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS-induced changes in global brain activity and advance the understanding of how <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS influences WM. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-56aed81caab747dc8d860d6f3dba38cc |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-56aed81caab747dc8d860d6f3dba38cc2025-08-20T03:14:23ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252025-04-0115438110.3390/brainsci15040381Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Working Memory Ability in Healthy People: An EEG Microstate StudyBinbin Gao0Jinyan Zhang1Jianxu Zhang2Guangying Pei3Tiantian Liu4Li Wang5Shintaro Funahashi6Jinglong Wu7Zhilin Zhang8Jian Zhang9School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaAdvanced Research Institute for Multidisciplinary Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaResearch Center for Medical Artificial Intelligence, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaSchool of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaBackground:Working memory (WM) is a core cognitive function closely linked to various cognitive processes including language, decision making, and reasoning. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, has been shown to modulate cognitive abilities and treat psychiatric disorders. Although gamma tACS (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS) has demonstrated positive effects on WM, its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. Methods: In this study, we employed electroencephalogram (EEG) microstate analysis to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS effects on WM performance. Healthy participants (N = 104) participated in two-back and three-back WM tasks before and after two types (sine and triangular) of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS, with sham stimulation as a control. Results: Our results revealed that <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS improved performance in both the two-back and three-back tasks, with triangular <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS showing greater accuracy improvement in the three-back task than the sham group. Furthermore, <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS significantly modulated EEG microstate dynamics, specifically downregulating microstate Class C and upregulating microstate Classes D and B. These changes were positively correlated with reduced reaction times in the three-back task. Conclusions: Our findings establish microstate analysis as an effective approach for evaluating <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS-induced changes in global brain activity and advance the understanding of how <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>-tACS influences WM.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/4/381γ-tACSworking memorymicrostateresting-state EEG |
| spellingShingle | Binbin Gao Jinyan Zhang Jianxu Zhang Guangying Pei Tiantian Liu Li Wang Shintaro Funahashi Jinglong Wu Zhilin Zhang Jian Zhang Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Working Memory Ability in Healthy People: An EEG Microstate Study Brain Sciences γ-tACS working memory microstate resting-state EEG |
| title | Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Working Memory Ability in Healthy People: An EEG Microstate Study |
| title_full | Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Working Memory Ability in Healthy People: An EEG Microstate Study |
| title_fullStr | Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Working Memory Ability in Healthy People: An EEG Microstate Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Working Memory Ability in Healthy People: An EEG Microstate Study |
| title_short | Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Working Memory Ability in Healthy People: An EEG Microstate Study |
| title_sort | gamma transcranial alternating current stimulation enhances working memory ability in healthy people an eeg microstate study |
| topic | γ-tACS working memory microstate resting-state EEG |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/4/381 |
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