Study of Inhibitory Control through Non-Invasive Brain Current Stimulation
Professor Min Byoung-kyong’s group published their results in NeuroImage

▲ (From left) Research Professor Seo Jee-hye (first author), Lee Je-hyeop (doctoral student, co-author), and Professor Min Byoung-kyong (corresponding author)

Professor Min Byoung-kyong’s group from the Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering effectively controlled the inhibitory control function, which is one of the important human cognitive functions, through non-invasive brain stimulation, and identified the changes in the activity of the brain region corresponding to that function.

Their results were published online in NeuroImage, which is the top international journal in the field of brain imaging, on April 20.
- Title of article : Out-of-phase transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates the neurodynamics of inhibitory control
- Article URL : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811924001071

This study was carried out based on the antagonism between the central executive network, which is activated when the brain performs cognitive processing, and the default mode network, which is activated in an ordinary state, and non-invasive current simulating signals with phase lag were used.

Professor Min’s group from the Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering will continue their research into the neurophysiological principles of the human cognitive functions through non-invasive brain simulation and develop technologies to augment major human cognitive functions.

This study was supported by the Human Plus Fusion R&D Challenge Project Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea and the BK21 FOUR R&E Center for Precision Public Health (Korea University).

<Figure 1>

A. The 0°- or 180°-phase-lag stimulation signals between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-dlPFC) the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC).  

B. Simulation of the strength of the electric field in the region affected by brain stimulation.  

C. Primary motor cortical activation in the absence of brain stimulation.  

D. Activation detected in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and putamen regions in addition to the primary motor cortex in the presence of 180°-phase-lag stimulation compared to 0°-phase-lag stimulation.  

E. Functional connectivity between brain regions under the congruent conditions in the Stroop task.  

F. Functional connectivity between brain regions under the incongruent conditions in the Stroop task. The functional connectivity mostly disappeared in the context of the brain stimulation.