EEG responses evoked by transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation: a pilot study

Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) is a non-invasive approach that allows to stimulate spinal circuitries via active electrodes placed on the skin over the vertebral column. Usually, researchers use electromyography to control the efficacy of the stimulation while the number of studies focused on the tSCS-induced brain responses is limited. In this study, we focused on the evoked activity of the cortex during unilateral stimulation at two levels of the spinal cord. We conclude that the amplitude of the evoked responses changes depending on the magnitude of the stimulation, and the components of the event related potentials demonstrate side-depended laterality reflecting the response of the somatosensory cortex. These findings suggest that EEG could be used as a suitable tool to investigate event-related potentials evoked by the tSCS and the effects of this type of stimulation on the cortical level.