Understanding the mechanism of action of non-invasive brain stimulation

在过去的几年里，人们对非侵入性脑刺激(NIB)探索人类认知的兴趣与日俱增。NIBS是一组将电场或磁场施加到人脑以改变大脑皮质功能的技术。这些技术是无痛、非侵入性和安全的，越来越多地被用于认知神经科学，以更好地了解大脑是如何工作的。尽管围绕NIBS的热情和我们对大脑如何执行认知任务的理解提供了重要的见解，但它改变大脑功能的实际机制仍然部分未知。本提案的目标是1)使用各种脑成像技术来确定NIBS如何影响神经递质功能；以及2)确定一些个体是否具有使他们更容易受到NIBS影响的特定特征。这项研究很重要，因为NIBS不仅用于研究人类认知，还用作治疗精神和神经疾病(如抑郁症)的工具。预计这项研究计划将有助于更好地识别NIBS“响应者”，并进一步了解脑刺激方案的细胞和神经化学效应。这一计划可能会对研究产生深远的好处，因为它将允许开发更适合研究患者认知和治疗的工具。

The last few years have seen increased interest in non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) to probe human cognition. NIBS is a group of techniques that applies electrical or magnetic fields to the human brain to alter cortical function. The techniques are painless, non-invasive and safe and are increasingly being used in cognitive neuroscience to better understand how the brain works. Despite the enthusiasm surrounding NIBS and the important insights is has provided in our understanding of how the brain performs cognitive tasks, the actual mechanism by which it modifies brain function remains partly unknown. The goal of the present proposal is to 1) use a variety of brain imaging techniques to determine how NIBS affects neurotransmitter function; and 2) determine if some individuals have specific characteristics that makes them more susceptible to the effects of NIBS. This research is important as NIBS is used not only to study human cognition, but also as a therapeutic tool for psychiatric and neurological conditions such as depression. It is anticipated that this research program will help better identify NIBS « responders » and further our understanding of the cellular and neurochemical effects of brain stimulation protocols. This program could have far reaching benefits for research as it will allow the development of tools that are better-suited for the study of cognition and treatment of patients.