The Oscillatory Effects of Rhythmic Median Nerve Stimulation

Abstract

Entrainment of brain oscillations can be achieved using rhythmic non-invasive brain stimulation, and stimulation of the motor cortex at a frequency associated with sensorimotor inhibition can impair motor responses. Despite the potential for therapeutic application, these techniques do not lend themselves to use outside of a clinical setting. Here, the aim was to investigate whether rhythmic median nerve stimulation (MNS) could be used to entrain oscillations related to sensorimotor inhibition. MEG data were recorded from 20 participants during 400 trials, where for each trial 10 pulses of MNS were delivered either rhythmically or arrhythmically at 12 or 20Hz. Our results demonstrate a frequency specific increase in relative amplitude in the contralateral somatosensory cortex during rhythmic but not arrhythmic stimulation. This was coupled with an increase in inter-trial phase coherence at the same frequency, suggesting that the oscillations synchronised with the pulses of MNS. While the results show that 20Hz rhythmic peripheral nerve stimulation can produce entrainment, the response to 12Hz stimulation was largely due to the presence of rhythmic sensory evoked potentials. Regardless, rhythmic MNS resulted in synchronous firing of neuronal populations within the contralateral somatosensory cortex meaning these neurons were occupied in processing of the afferent input. Therefore, MNS could prove therapeutically useful in disorders associated with hyperexcitability within the sensorimotor cortices.