Theta burst entrainment of human EEG using flickering light stimulation.

Abstract

Theta burst stimulation (TBS) is a well-established technique in brain stimulation, with broad applications across neuroscience, rehabilitation, and psychiatry. Traditionally, TBS is delivered via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which, while effective, is costly and requires professional oversight. In this study, we demonstrate that sensory stimulation-specifically, flickering light delivered in a theta burst pattern-can also induce robust neural entrainment. Participants viewed an LED light panel positioned 40 cm away across three sequential phases: a 3-minute pre-stimulation baseline, a 5-minute online stimulation period, and a 5-minute post-stimulation observation. Consistent with findings from the TMS literature (outside the motor cortex), continuous TBS elicited strong theta-band EEG entrainment, whereas intermittent TBS produced minimal or no entrainment. These results provide the first evidence, using online and offline EEG, that sensory stimulation can mimic key features of TBS-induced entrainment. This paves the way for future clinical and neuroscientific applications of TBS for neural entrainment.