Faculty Mentor(s)

Dr. Daniel Dorman, Neuroscience

Document Type

Poster

Event Date

4-17-2026

Abstract

The established treatment for Parkinson’s disease is deep brain stimulation (DBS), an effective but invasive procedure requiring surgical implantation of electrodes. Transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) is a novel, noninvasive technique with potential to target deep brain regions. It applies two high-frequency currents with a slight offset through scalp electrodes, producing a low-frequency envelope that may modulate neuronal activity where the fields overlap. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is the favored DBS target in advanced Parkinson’s disease. While tTIS has been studied in humans, animals, and generic neuron models, no work has examined tTIS on optimized models of STN neurons. We simulated tTIS on STN neurons to identify parameters for effective modulation. Using NEURON, we implemented an anatomically and biophysically realistic STN model and designed a tTIS model with optimized frequency, amplitude, and gradient. Two sinusoidal electric fields with slightly offset frequencies were applied via the extracellular mechanism, producing a low-frequency envelope. The gradient was optimized to depict current distribution across neuronal compartments. STN analysis reflected expected patterns: tTIS entrained and enhanced firing activity, with a noticeable phase shift in spike timing. These results indicate tTIS can noninvasively influence STN activity, supporting its potential as a therapeutic tool for Parkinson’s disease.

Comments

This research was supported by the Kenneth H. Campbell Foundation for Neurological Research.

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