Single-Layer Skull Approximations Perform Well in Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modeling

In modeling the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation, the representation of the skull is an important factor. In a spherical model, we compared a realistic skull modeling approach, in which the skull consisted of three isotropic layers, to anisotropic and isotropic single-layer approxim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering 2013-05, Vol.21 (3), p.346-353
Main Authors: Rampersad, Sumientra M., Stegeman, Dick F., Oostendorp, Thom F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Potentials - physiology
Action Potentials - radiation effects
Animals
Anisotropic
Anisotropy
Approximation
Approximation methods
Brain - physiology
Brain - radiation effects
Brain modeling
brain stimulation
Computer Simulation
Conductivity
Current density
Direct current
Electric Conductivity
Electrodes
Electromagnetic Fields
Equivalence
finite element methods
Humans
Models, Neurological
Nerve Net - physiology
Nerve Net - radiation effects
Neurons - physiology
Neurons - radiation effects
Optimization
Rehabilitation
Skin
Skull
Skull - physiology
Skull - radiation effects
Stimulation
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation - methods
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Summary:In modeling the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation, the representation of the skull is an important factor. In a spherical model, we compared a realistic skull modeling approach, in which the skull consisted of three isotropic layers, to anisotropic and isotropic single-layer approximations. We simulated direct current stimulation for a range of conductivity values and investigated differences in the resulting current densities. Our results demonstrate that both approximation methods perform well, provided that the optimal conductivity values are used. We found that for both the anisotropic and the isotropic approximations the optimal conductivity values are largely dictated by the equivalent radial conductivity of the three-layered skull.
ISSN:1534-4320
1558-0210
DOI:10.1109/TNSRE.2012.2206829