Electric Field Distribution during Non-Invasive Electric and Magnetic Stimulation of the Cervical Spinal Cord

Experimental studies on transcutaneous spinal cord direct current and magnetic stimulation (tsDCS and tsMS) show promising results in the neuromodulation of spinal sensory and motor pathways, with possible application in spinal functional rehabilitation. Modelling studies on the electric field (EF) distribution during tsDCS and tsMS are powerful tools to understand the underlying biophysics and to select and optimize stimulation protocols for a specific clinical target. The study presented here compares the EF during cervical tsDCS and tsMS. The EF predictions show the same spatial profiles along the cervical spinal cord using both types of stimulation. tsMS presents higher average magnitudes per spinal segment, with a maximum value of 14.61 V/m, whereas tsDCS is approximately 30 times lower, reaching 0.44 V/m. According to previous studies, tsDCS and tsMS induce EF values which are sufficient for spinal neuromodulation.