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In-scanner individualized theta-band tACS as a neuromodulatory pathway for enhancing language processing

Poster Session D - Monday, March 9, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Clair Min Kyung Hong¹ (), Andrew Janson², Katherine Aboud³; ¹Vanderbilt University

Roughly one in five adults in the United States experiences difficulty encoding and understanding written language, yet existing interventions for language comprehension (LC) have shown limited success. Low LC in adults is characterized by largely intact but slow single-word reading, and this reduced automaticity cascades into effortful comprehension. Previous research suggests that such “effortful LC” is both supported and mitigated by dynamic communication between the cognitive control network (CCN) and the reading–language network (RLN). In the present study, participants completed two sessions of individualized theta-band transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS; 2 mA, 25 min) targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the left angular gyrus while reading scientific passages: Session 1 delivered stimulation during MRI, and Session 2 delivered stimulation outside the scanner, immediately followed by EEG. Our results revealed enhanced engagement of frontoparietal control and default-mode subsystems associated with integrative language processing in the stimulation group. Multimodal joint independent component analysis of fMRI and EEG data identified a significant P600 component in the post-stimulation group, engaging a distributed control–language network with medial default-mode coupling, consistent with strengthened syntactic–semantic integration. Whole-brain GLM comparing stimulation- versus sham-related change showed coordinated modulation across CCN, DMN, and medial temporal systems. These findings provide preliminary evidence that individualized theta-band tACS enhances cross-network communication supporting encoding resilience—the ability to sustain comprehension and integration under cognitive demand—suggesting a mechanistic pathway for neuromodulatory enhancement of language comprehension.

Topic Area: LANGUAGE: Other