Multimedia Library
Dopamine depletion effects on cognitive flexibility as modulated by tDCS of the dlPFC
Recent evidence suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may interact with the dopaminergic system to affect cognitive flexibility. Objective/hypotheses: We examined whether putative reduction of dopamine levels through the acute phenylalanine/tyrosine depletion (APTD) procedure and excitatory anodal tDCS of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) are causally related to cognitive flexibility as measured by task switching and reversal learning.Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for depression in pregnancy: A pilot randomized controlled trial
Depression in pregnancy negatively affects maternal-child health. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation treatment for depression, has not been evaluated in pregnancy.Cortico-spinal tDCS in ALS: A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive disease which affects both upper and lower motor neurons, with a fatal prognosis, for which no curative treatment is currently available. Glutamate-driven excitotoxicity is supposed to be involved in its pathophysiology, and drugs such as riluzole or edaravone have shown to reduce disease progression in ALS to a limited extent.Modulation of creativity by transcranial direct current stimulation
Creativity is the use of original ideas to accomplish something innovative. Previous research supports the notion that creativity is facilitated by an activation of the right and/or a deactivation of the left prefrontal cortex. In contrast, recent brain imaging studies suggest that creativity improves with left frontal activation.Effects of 6-month at-home transcranial direct current stimulation on cognition and cerebral glucose metabolism in Alzheimer's disease
Although single or multiple sessions of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the prefrontal cortex over a few weeks improved cognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), effects of repeated tDCS over longer period and underlying neural correlates remain to be elucidated.Antidepressant effects of tDCS are associated with prefrontal gray matter volumes at baseline: Evidence from the ELECT-TDCS trial
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising intervention for major depression. However, its clinical effects are heterogeneous. We investigated, in a subsample of the randomized, clinical trial Escitalopram versus Electrical Direct Current Therapy for Depression Study (ELECT-TDCS), whether the volumes of left and right prefrontal cortex (PFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were associated with prefrontal tDCS response.Effects of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation on cerebellar-brain inhibition in humans: A systematic evaluation
Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (ctDCS) is increasingly used to modulate cerebellar excitability and plasticity in healthy subjects and various patient populations. ctDCS parameters are poorly standardized, and its physiology remains little understood. Our aim was to compare the physiological effects of three different non-target electrode positions (buccinator muscle, supraorbital region, deltoid muscle).Towards precise brain stimulation: Is electric field simulation related to neuromodulation?
Recent research on neural and behavioral consequences of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has highlighted the impact of individual factors, such as brain anatomy which determines current field distribution and may thus significantly impact stimulation effects. Computational modeling approaches may significantly advance our understanding of such factors, but the association of simulation-based tDCS-induced fields and neurophysiological outcomes has not been investigated.Transcranial direct current stimulation in inflammatory bowel disease patients modifies resting-state functional connectivity: A RCT
Chronic pain is known to be associated with functional and structural changes in the brain. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) presents with chronic abdominal pain in almost 35% of all patients. This study investigates structural and functional changes in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to ameliorate pain in IBD.Somatosensory and transcranial direct current stimulation effects on manual dexterity and motor cortex function: A metaplasticity study
Non-invasive neuromodulation may provide treatment strategies for neurological deficits affecting movement, such as stroke. For example, weak electrical stimulation applied to the hand by wearing a “mesh glove” (MGS) can transiently increase primary motor cortex (M1) excitability. Conversely, transcranial direct current stimulation with the cathode over M1 (c-tDCS) can decrease corticomotor excitability. Objective/Hypothesis: We applied M1 c-tDCS as a priming adjuvant to MGS and hypothesised metaplastic effects would be apparent in improved motor performance and modulation of M1 inhibitory and facilitatory circuits.Direction of TDCS current flow in human sensorimotor cortex influences behavioural learning
Recent studies have shown that neurophysiological outcomes of transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) are influenced by current flow in brain regions between the electrodes, and in particular the orientation of current flow relative to the cortical surface.Sham tDCS: A hidden source of variability? Reflections for further blinded, controlled trials
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique increasingly used to modulate neural activity in the living brain. In order to establish the neurophysiological, cognitive or clinical effects of tDCS, most studies compare the effects of active tDCS to those observed with a sham tDCS intervention. In most cases, sham tDCS consists in delivering an active stimulation for a few seconds to mimic the sensations observed with active tDCS and keep participants blind to the intervention.Catecholaminergic modulation of indices of cognitive flexibility: A pharmaco-tDCS study
Dopaminergic activity within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) has been implicated in the control of cognitive flexibility. Much of the evidence for a causative relationship between cognitive flexibility and dopamine has come from animal studies, whilst human data have largely been correlational. Objective/Hypothesis:The current study examines whether changes in dopamine levels through tyrosine administration and suppression of dlPFC activity via cathodal tDCS could be causally related to cognitive flexibility as measured by task switching and reversal learning.A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on episodic memory
In the past decade, several studies have examined the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on long-term episodic memory formation and retrieval. These studies yielded conflicting results, likely due to differences in stimulation parameters, experimental design and outcome measures.Treatment of major depression with a two-step tDCS protocol add-on to SSRI: Results from a naturalistic study
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been introduced as a potential treatment for major depressive disorder [1,2]. Recent studies suggest that anodal tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has a dosage-dependent effect [3] and leads to larger clinical improvement when combined with an antidepressant medication, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) [4] as they enhance and prolong tDCS-induced cortical neuroplasticity [5,6]. Further neuroplasticity changes might be facilitated through metaplastic mechanisms when applying a second tDCS session during the aftereffects of the first stimulation [7].Multi-session anodal tDCS enhances the effects of postural training on balance and postural stability in older adults with high fall risk: Primary motor cortex versus cerebellar stimulation
Postural control impairment is a key target for rehabilitation of older adults with high fall risk.Modulation of cortical responses by transcranial direct current stimulation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: A resting-state EEG and TMS-EEG study
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique with potential for cost-effective therapeutic neuromodulation. Although positive therapeutic effects were found by stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), few studies have investigated physiological effects of DLPFC-tDCS.Evidence of transcranial direct current stimulation-generated electric fields at subthalamic level in human brain in vivo
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising brain modulation technique for several disease conditions. With this technique, some portion of the current penetrates through the scalp to the cortex and modulates cortical excitability, but a recent human cadaver study questions the amount. This insufficient intracerebral penetration of currents may partially explain the inconsistent and mixed results in tDCS studies to date. Experimental validation of a transcranial alternating current stimulation-generated electric field (EF) in vivo has been performed on the cortical (using electrocorticography, ECoG, electrodes), subcortical (using stereo electroencephalography, SEEG, electrodes) and deeper thalamic/subthalamic levels (using DBS electrodes).International randomized-controlled trial of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in depression
Evidence suggests that transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has antidepressant effects in unipolar depression, but there is limited information for patients with bipolar depression. Additionally, prior research suggests that brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met genotype may moderate response to tDCS.Transcranial direct current stimulation in Parkinson's disease dementia: A randomised double-blind crossover trial
Attentional dysfunction is a common and prominent feature of Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). However, side effects are typically associated with the use of pharmacological agents in the treatment of this symptom and do not work in all patients [1]. One potential non-pharmacological intervention is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and a previous pilot study in Lewy body dementia patients, where a single 20-min session of anodal tDCS was applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), showed tentative evidence of post-stimulation improvements in attentional, but not visuoperceptual, performance [2].Response variability of different anodal transcranial direct current stimulation intensities across multiple sessions
It is well known that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is capable of modulating corticomotor excitability. However, a source of growing concern has been the observed inter- and intra-individual variability of tDCS-responses. Recent studies have assessed whether individuals respond in a predictable manner across repeated sessions of anodal tDCS (atDCS). The findings of these investigations have been inconsistent, and their methods have some limitations (i.e. lack of sham condition or testing only one tDCS intensity).A single session of prefrontal cortex transcranial direct current stimulation does not modulate implicit task sequence learning and consolidation
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is assumed to affect cortical excitability and dependent on the specific stimulation conditions either to increase or decrease learning.Treatment-emergent mania/hypomania during antidepressant treatment with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS): A systematic review and meta-analysis
Treatment-emergent mania/hypomania (TEM) is a possible adverse effect of pharmacological and non-pharmacological antidepressant treatments.Long term clinical and neurophysiological effects of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with neurodegenerative ataxia
Neurodegenerative cerebellar ataxias represent a group of disabling disorders for which we currently lack effective therapies. Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive technique, which has been demonstrated to modulate cerebellar excitability and improve symptoms in patients with cerebellar ataxias.A Systematic Review on the Acceptability and Tolerability of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Treatment in Neuropsychiatry Trials
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique based on the application of a weak, direct electric current over the scalp, thereby modifying brain activity and inducing neuroplasticity according to the montage of the apparatus and stimulation parameters [1]. This method has been increasingly used in the treatment of several psychiatric and neurologic disorders [2] as it presents appealing characteristics for use in clinical practice, such as ease of use, portability and low cost.
