Do single neuron models exhibit temporal interference stimulation?

Abstract

Performing deep-brain stimulation (DBS) noninvasively can have a drastic impact on neuroscience and clinical care. A recent work suggests that such noninvasive DBS is feasible using “Temporal Interference” (TI) stimulation, where two interfering high-frequency sinusoidal currents produce electrical stimulation only when the amplitudes of the sinusoids are approximately equal. While electrical stimulation using TI has been studied for decades, the understanding of its fundamental neurobiological mechanisms is still poor. In order to establish a better understanding of TI stimulation, a theoretical and computational approach is needed. In this work, we adopt such an approach using a computational model that is a sea of single neurons inside a spherical head. We demonstrate that the classical Hodgkin-Huxley squid neurons and some mammalian cells do exhibit TI stimulation in this model. We also observe that some mammalian neurons do not exhibit TI stimulation, suggesting that deeper studies are needed to understand if TI stimulation works with all neuron-types, or if it is network mechanisms (instead of single neuron dynamics) that enable TI stimulation.