Asif Rahman

The aim of this study is to understand the effects of uniform direct current electric fields on synaptic plasticity in the motor cortex. Weak DC electrical stimulation is clinically used to treat a wide array of neuropsychiatric diseases. Here we record extracellularly from an in vitro rat brain slice to demonstrate the field effects on neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity.

The application of uniform electric fields for long and short durations seem to have non-uniform effects that are dependent on many factors, including ongoing activity, orientation of the neurons to the applied field, and the the intrinsic cortical synaptic connections. Clearly field effects are more complicated than the traditional clinical dogma that "anodal increases excitability" and "cathodal decreases excitability".

This paper is currently under preparation.