The Design of Music Rhythm‐Based Optical‐Magnetic Stimulator and Its Study on LTP/LTD in the CA1 Region of the Hippocampus

ABSTRACT

Musical stimulation can activate specific brain regions and modulate neural functions, whereas optical and magnetic stimulation technologies enable precise neuronal manipulation. However, traditional neural stimulation approaches mostly adopt a single mode, and research on their combined regulatory effects is still limited. Light‐magnetic combined stimulation (LMCS), as an emerging multi‐modal physical neural modulation technique, has demonstrated unique advantages in regulating neural activity and synaptic plasticity and holds significant potential for application in the fields of cognitive enhancement and neural rehabilitation. This study innovatively combines two physical stimulation modalities—light and magnetic fields—using musical signals as the modulation source to explore their synergistic effects on synaptic plasticity in the hippocampal Schaffer collateral‐CA1 region of rats. We designed a high spatial resolution light‐magnetic stimulation system; utilizing this system, in vitro brain slice experiments were conducted, applying single‐light, single‐magnetic, and combined light‐magnetic stimulation respectively. Changes in long‐term potentiation (LTP) and long‐term depression (LTD) were recorded. The experimental results showed that the combined light‐magnetic stimulation, when synchronized with specific musical rhythms, exhibited the optimal regulatory effects on both LTP and LTD, outperforming single stimulation modes. This study verified the effectiveness of light‐magnetic combined stimulation based on music rhythm in regulating LTP/LTD and provided design parameters and experimental basis for the development of the equipment.