# Transcranial alternating current stimulation at 10 Hz promotes oligodendrogenesis and reduces g-ratio after cuprizone-induced demyelination

## TL;DR

Applying 10 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation helps repair myelin in mice with cuprizone-induced brain damage, improving memory and myelin thickness.

## Contribution

This study shows tACS at 10 Hz promotes oligodendrogenesis and myelin repair in a non-invasive, translatable way for MS.

## Key findings

- tACS at 10 Hz accelerates oligodendrocyte maturation and increases axonal myelin thickness.
- Mice treated with tACS showed improved spatial memory compared to controls.
- Global myelin content was not affected, but g-ratio decreased, indicating better myelination.

## Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by demyelination and incomplete remyelination. While numerous disease modifying treatments are available, none of these have been shown to aid in remyelination. In this study, we examined the remyelinating potential of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at 10 Hz in the cuprizone (CPZ) model. Our experiments show that 1 week of tACS during the recovery phase of the CPZ model could accelerate the maturation of newly formed oligodendrocytes and increase the relative myelin thickness of axons without changing the gross myelin content. Cognitively, mice treated with tACS showed specific improvements in spatial memory performance. Overall, these findings indicate that tACS can promote oligodendrogenesis and myelin repair in vivo in a non-invasive manner, highlighting its potential as a translatable strategy for people with MS.

•TACS 10 Hz boosts oligodendrogenesis during remyelination•TACS 10 Hz lowers axonal g-ratio, indicating thicker myelin sheaths after CPZ•Global myelin content remains unchanged•CPZ-tACS mice perform akin to healthy mice in the NOL in contrast to CPZ-sham mice

TACS 10 Hz boosts oligodendrogenesis during remyelination

TACS 10 Hz lowers axonal g-ratio, indicating thicker myelin sheaths after CPZ

Global myelin content remains unchanged

CPZ-tACS mice perform akin to healthy mice in the NOL in contrast to CPZ-sham mice

Behavioral neuroscience; Biomedical engineering; Neuroscience