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Methods and Technologies for Low-Intensity Transcranial Electrical Stimulation: Waveforms, Terminology, and Historical Notes

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Textbook of Neuromodulation

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Abstract

Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) encompasses all methods of noninvasive current application to the brain used in research and clinical applications. We present the first comprehensive and technical review, explaining the evolution of tES in both terminology and dosage over the past 100 years of research to the present day. Current transcranial pulsed current stimulation (tPCS) approaches such as cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) descended from Electrosleep (ES) through cranial electrostimulation therapy (CET), transcerebral electrotherapy (TCET), and NeuroElectric Therapy (NET) while others like transcutaneous cranial electrical stimulation (TCES) descended from electroanesthesia (EA) through Limoge and interferential stimulation (IS). Prior to a contemporary resurgence in interest, forms of transcranial direct current stimulation were explored intermittently, notably as polarizing current. The development of these approaches alongside electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and pharmacological developments is considered. Both the roots and unique features of contemporary approaches such as transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) are discussed. Trends and incremental developments in electrode montage and waveform spanning decades are presented leading to the present day. Commercial devices, seminal conferences, and regulatory decisions are noted, though emphasis is placed on relevance and insight into current practices.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, 463 Steinman Hall, New York, NY, 10031, USA

    Berkan Guleyupoglu

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Capes, Brazil

    Pedro Schestatsky

  3. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Boston, MA, USA

    Felipe Fregni

  4. Neural Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York of CUNY, New York, NY, USA

    Marom Bikson

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  1. Berkan Guleyupoglu
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  2. Pedro Schestatsky
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  3. Felipe Fregni
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  4. Marom Bikson
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Correspondence to Berkan Guleyupoglu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care, Metropolitan Jewish Health Systems (MJHS), New York, New York, USA

    Helena Knotkova

  2. University of Lübeck, Department of Neurosurgery University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany

    Dirk Rasche

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Guleyupoglu, B., Schestatsky, P., Fregni, F., Bikson, M. (2015). Methods and Technologies for Low-Intensity Transcranial Electrical Stimulation: Waveforms, Terminology, and Historical Notes. In: Knotkova, H., Rasche, D. (eds) Textbook of Neuromodulation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1408-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1408-1_2

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