Ventral striatum temporal interference brain stimulation enhances the reward-positivity event-related potential and reduces anxiety.

Résumé

BACKGROUND: Temporal interference (TI) electrical stimulation is a novel neuromodulation method that can target deep brain structures to enhance the impact of behavioral techniques. We tested the feasibility of TI targeting the ventral striatum (VS) during an emotion regulation practice (breath-focused mindfulness meditation). To assess target engagement, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure amplitude of the reward positivity (RewP), an event-related potential (ERP) associated with cortico-striatal reward circuitry.METHODS: Nineteen healthy adults (age range: 18-36 years) received an MRI scan and two stimulation sessions during meditation: one active 8 Hz TI stimulation and one 0 Hz sham TI. Before and after meditation, they completed a reward task during EEG recording.RESULTS: A significant time by stimulation effect was observed with the RewP win-loss difference (p