Resonance-driven enhancement of sleep spindles using thalamic temporal interference stimulation

M. Gabriela Navas-Zuloaga; Tobias Raufeisen; Prince Okyere; Esra Neufeld; Niels Kuster; Derk‐Jan Dijk; Inês R. Violante; Maxim Bazhenov; Ullrich Bartsch

doi:10.64898/2026.05.29.728879

NeurosciencebioRxivJun 2, 2026

Preprint

Resonance-driven enhancement of sleep spindles using thalamic temporal interference stimulation

M. Gabriela Navas-Zuloaga iD, Tobias Raufeisen iD, Prince Okyere iD, Esra Neufeld iD, Niels Kuster iD, Derk‐Jan Dijk iD, Inês R. Violante iD, Maxim Bazhenov iD, Ullrich Bartsch iD

Abstract

Sleep spindles are hallmarks of non-rapid eye movement sleep and support memory consolidation yet remain difficult to modulate non-invasively. Combining computational modeling and human sleep recordings, we show that thalamus-targeted temporal interference stimulation (TIS) with a 5Hz envelope increases spindle density via subthreshold resonance in thalamocortical relay neurons. Our results demonstrate a mechanistic framework for the rational design of interventions to selectively augment sleep spindles.

PDF DOI