A computational pipeline to find lobule-specific electric field distribution during non-invasive cerebellar stimulation.

OBJECTIVE

Cerebellar Transcranial direct current stimulation (ctDCS) of cerebellar lobules is challenging due to the complexity of the cerebellar structure. Therefore, we present a freely available computational pipeline to determine the subject-specific lobule-specific electric field distribution during ctDCS.

METHODS

The computational pipeline isolates subject-specific cerebellar lobules based on a spatially unbiased atlas template (SUIT) for the cerebellum, and then calculates the lobule-specific electric field distribution during ctDCS. The computational pipeline was tested using Colin27 Average Brain. The 5 cm × 5 cm anode was placed 3 cm lateral to inion, and the same sized cathode was placed on the contralateral supra-orbital area (called Manto montage) and buccinators muscle (called Celnik montage). A published 4x1 HD-ctDCS electrode montage was also implemented for a comparison using analysis of variance.

RESULTS

The electric field strength of both the Celnik and the Manto montages affected the lobules Crus II, VIIb, VIII, and IX of the targeted cerebellar hemispheres while Manto montage had a more bilateral effect. The HD-ctDCS montage primarily affected the lobules Crus I, Crus II, VIIb of the targeted cerebellar hemisphere.

DISCUSSION: Our freely available subject-specific computational modeling pipeline can be used to analyze lobulespecific electric field distribution to select an optimal ctDCS electrode montage.