Modeling direct activation of corticospinal axons using transcranial electrical stimulation

Abstract

Corticospinal axons can be directly activated using anodal transcranial electrical stimulation. The purpose of this work was to find the location of the direct activation. The response to stimulation was modeled with a spherical head model and an active model of a corticospinal nerve. The nerve model had a deep bend at a location corresponding to a corticospinal fiber entering the midbrain. The threshold activation initiated close to brain surface; the exact location depended on whether the cell body located in the surface layers of the brain or in the bank of the central sulcus. The stimulation time constant was 44 μs. When the stimulus amplitude was increased, the site of activation shifted gradually to deeper level, until the activation initiated directly at the bend causing a half millisecond latency jump at spinal level. These results support the theory that the corticospinal axons can be directly activated at deep locations using anodal transcranial electrical stimulation. However, the high amplitude needed for the direct activation suggests that not only the bends on the fibers, but also the shape of surrounding volume conductor (intracranial cavity) favor activation at this location.