Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Fine-tuning the brain’s brakes – modulating inhibitory control with transcranial alternating current stimulation

Objective

Inhibitory control over unwanted thoughts, emotions and movements is essential for effective interaction with our environment. This becomes particularly evident when there is too little inhibition, as in obsessive-compulsive disorder or Tourette’s syndrome, or too much, as in Parkinson’s disease. Recent evidence links successful inhibition to the power of neural oscillations in the beta band (15-30Hz) in a circuit involving the frontal cortex and the subthalamic nucleus. While this is an important step forward, it is not yet sufficient to develop effective neuromodulatory treatments for inhibitory control disorders. For that, we need to understand how the beta oscillations mediate neuronal communication within the fronto-subthalamic circuit.
In this proposal, I address this challenging question through novel applications of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). This non-invasive brain stimulation technique aligns neuronal oscillations to an oscillating low-intensity electrical current applied to the brain. This external control over oscillatory power and phase will allow me to investigate: (1) the functional relevance of beta oscillatory phase, and (2) the causal role of interactions between beta oscillations and other frequency bands (‘cross-frequency coupling’). Subsequently, I will develop an innovative, non-invasive, treatment strategy for inhibitory control deficits, by recording and modulating abnormal circuit activity only when present.
Maastricht University is the ideal place to perform this research program as it is one of the only institutes in the world that has access to a new generation of deep brain stimulators, enabling concurrent recording of cortical and subthalamic activity, and it houses one of the pioneering groups in using oscillation-based non-invasive brain stimulation. Integration within this multidisciplinary team will offer an exceptional opportunity to increase my skill set, and capability to launch my own research group.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT MAASTRICHT
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 165 598,80
Address
MINDERBROEDERSBERG 4
6200 MD Maastricht
Netherlands

See on map

Region
Zuid-Nederland Limburg (NL) Zuid-Limburg
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 165 598,80
My booklet 0 0