PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Background: Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) generates an electric field (or current density) in the brain through surface electrodes attached to the scalp. Clinical significance has been demonstrated, although with moderate and heterogeneous results partly due to a lack of control of the delivered electric currents. In the last decade, computational electric field analysis has allowed the estimation and optimization of the electric field using accurate anatomical head models. This review examines recent tES computational studies, providing a comprehensive background on the technical aspects of adopting computational electric field analysis as a standardized procedure in medical applications. Methods: Specific search strategies were designed to retrieve papers from the Web of Science database. The papers were initially screened based on the soundness of the title and abstract and then on their full contents, resulting in a total of 57 studies. Results: Recent trends were identified in individual- and population-level analysis of the electric field, including head models from non-neurotypical individuals. Advanced optimization techniques that allow a high degree of control with the required focality and direction of the electric field were also summarized. There is also growing evidence of a correlation between the computationally estimated electric field and the observed responses in real experiments. Conclusions: Computational pipelines and optimization algorithms have reached a degree of maturity that provides a rationale to improve tES experimental design and a posteriori analysis of the responses for supporting clinical studies.
摘要：
背景：经颅电刺激（tES）通过附着在头皮上的表面电极在大脑中产生电场（或电流密度）。临床意义已被证明，尽管具有中等和不均匀的结果，部分原因是缺乏对所输送电流的控制。在过去的十年里，计算电场分析允许使用精确的解剖头部模型来估计和优化电场。这篇综述考察了最近的TES计算研究，在医疗应用中采用计算电场分析作为标准化程序的技术方面提供全面的背景。方法：设计了特定的搜索策略，以从WebofScience数据库中检索论文。论文最初是根据标题和摘要的正确性进行筛选的，然后根据其全部内容进行筛选，共进行了57项研究。结果：在电场的个人和人群水平分析中确定了最近的趋势，包括来自非神经典型个体的头部模型。还总结了先进的优化技术，这些技术可以对所需的聚焦度和电场方向进行高度控制。越来越多的证据表明，计算估计的电场与实际实验中观察到的响应之间存在相关性。结论：计算管道和优化算法已达到一定程度的成熟度，为改进tES实验设计和支持临床研究的响应的后验分析提供了理论基础。
