Caroline Rae1, Vincent Lee2,
Colleen Loo3, Roger Ordidge4
1Neuroscience Research Australia,
Randwick, NSW, Australia; 2School of Medical Sciences, the
University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia; 3School of
Psychiatry, the University of New South Wales, Australia; 4Dept of
Medical Physics, University College London, United Kingdom
We studied 9 normal subjects using a 3T-compatible transcranial direct current stimulator to apply anodal stimulation over the DLPFC in a sham-controlled study. 31P MR spectra were obtained from the fronto-temporal lobe before, during and for 20 min following stimulation. Intracellular pH, ATP and PCr were increased by tDCS, with pH and ATP rising rapidly during stimulation. PCr increased over time and continued to increase following stimulation, while inorganic phosphate decreased. These data show that direct current stimulation increases brain bioenergetic capacity, through net synthesis of ATP followed by equilibration with PCr.