Personalizing transcranial electrical stimulation

Abstract

Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) encompasses non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, such as transcranial direct and alternating current stimulation, which modulate the central nervous system to probe causal links between the brain and behavior and treat disorders. Unfortunately, fixed stimulation paradigms induce variable effects due to intra- and interindividual factors. Consequently, personalized approaches to tES are increasingly used. In this review, we highlight this emerging domain of human brain stimulation, examining strategies for the personalization of stimulation parameters and their underlying rationales. Multiparameter personalization and the identification of markers indicating tES efficacy represent promising directions. Personalization is not a panacea for all the challenges of tES, but marks an essential step toward reducing the variability of this technique.

Keywords: dosing strategies; individual variability; non-invasive brain stimulation; precision neuromodulation; transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS); transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).