Controlling how neural activity travels across the brain
May 6, 2026 — Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have developed a new form of noninvasive brain stimulation that can control how electrical activity travels across the brain, providing a new approach to modulating neural dynamics and behavior. This represents a major step toward developing targeted therapies for cognitive impairment, including conditions associated with memory, attention, and executive function deficits.
The study was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Traveling waves are patterns of brain oscillations that propagate across distinct regions, shaping how information is transferred during cognitive processing. These dynamics are fundamental to how the brain coordinates activity across distributed areas. However, existing noninvasive brain stimulation techniques have not been able to directly target or control these propagating patterns, limiting their effectiveness in modulating cognitive function.
To address this challenge, the researchers developed traveling-wave transcranial alternating current stimulation (twtACS), a method that applies phase-shifted electrical stimulation across multiple electrodes to induce controlled propagation of neural activity.
The team validated the method across multiple experimental levels:
- In human intracranial recordings, twtACS induced spatial phase gradients across electrodes, consistent with traveling-wave propagation.
- In preclinical studies, intracranial recordings revealed that twtACS systematically shifted neural spike timing, consistent with externally imposed traveling-wave dynamics.
- In healthy human participants, behavioral experiments revealed that twtACS modulated cognitive performance.
Additionally, the effects of twtACS varied depending on the direction of traveling waves (either forward or backward), indicating that the imposed propagation pattern can influence neural and behavioral outcomes. Together, these findings demonstrate that twtACS can reliably shape neural timing and large-scale brain dynamics across species and measurement scales, linking externally applied stimulation to measurable cognitive outcomes.
“This approach allows us to move beyond stimulating isolated brain regions,” said Alexander Opitz, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Biomedical Engineering. “Instead, we can directly shape how neural activity propagates across brain networks.”
These findings suggest that twtACS can be refined from simply increasing or decreasing neural activity to precisely shaping the dynamics of neural communication. This approach may provide a foundation for developing targeted interventions for cognitive impairment in disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and ADHD.
The study was led by Alexander Opitz, with Sangjun Lee as first author, and included Jimin Park, Ivan Alekseichuk, Taylor Berger, Ana Manea, Harry Tran, Gabriela Salazar, and Seth D König. The study was conducted in collaboration with Alexander Herman, David Darrow, and Jan Zimmermann.
This work was supported primarily by the National Institute of Health (NIH) along with the Behavior and Brain Research Foundation and the University of Minnesota’s MnDRIVE Initiative.