Chronic alcohol-induced brain states limit propagation of direct cortical stimulation

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

The impact of chronic alcohol consumption is evident in disruptions within prefrontal circuitries, resulting in cognitive deficits that underlie lost control over drinking. Given the limited efficacy of current pharmacotherapy, we employed multifunctional bioelectronics to investigate the potential of direct electrical brain stimulation to rectify neural impairments in alcohol-dependent rats. Cortical stimulation counteracted the observed deficiencies in event-related brain potentials and neural oscillations following chronic alcohol consumption, particularly by strengthening low-beta oscillations related to executive control. Stimulation efficacy thereby correlated with individual drinking patterns. In alcohol-dependent rats, stimulation-related neuroenhancement was spatially confined to the stimulation site, indicating reduced neural connectivity, as confirmed by a computational approach to directed functional connectivity patterns. Such state-dependent factors may contribute to the varying efficacy of brain stimulation observed in patients, ultimately suggesting the need for personalized neuromodulation designs.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number35407
Number of pages15
JournalScientific reports
Volume15
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 10 Oct 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC12514308
Scopus 105018398459
ORCID /0000-0003-0189-3448/work/196051071
ORCID /0000-0002-2989-9561/work/196055021
ORCID /0000-0002-3188-8431/work/196056287

Keywords

Subject groups, research areas, subject areas according to Destatis

Keywords

  • Animals, Rats, Alcoholism/physiopathology, Male, Evoked Potentials, Brain/physiopathology, Ethanol, Prefrontal Cortex/physiopathology, Electric Stimulation