Relative Comparison of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Methods for Modulating Deep Brain Targets

This study models and investigates whether temporally interfering electric fields (TI EFs) could function as an effective non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) method for deep brain structure targeting in humans, relevant for psychiatric applications. Here, electric fields off- and on-target are modelled and compared with other common NIBS modalities (tACS, TMS). Additionally, local effects of the field strength are modelled on single-compartment neuronal models. While TI EFs are able to effectively reach deep brain targets, the ratio of off- to on-target stimulation remains high and comparable to other NIBS and may result in off-target neural blocks. Clinical Relevance— This study builds on earlier work and demonstrates some of the challenges -such as off-target conduction blocks- of applying TI EFs for targeting deep brain structures important in understanding the potential of treating neuropsychiatric conditions in the future