Does cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (ctDCS) plus standard upper limb rehabilitation augment motor recovery post acute stroke? – A pilot study

Interhemispheric balance (IHB) is disrupted after stroke. The contralesional hemisphere can exert an excessive inhibitory influence on the lesioned side, reducing activity in the damaged motor cortex and interfering with motor recovery. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may ameliorate this imbalance. One form of NIBS is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). tDCS can modulate cortical excitability in three ways: (1) excitatory (anodal) tDCS to the aff5cted hemisphere; (2) inhibitory (cathodal) tDCS (ctDCS) can dampen overactivity in the contralesional hemisphere; and (3) bihemispheric tDCS which produces a combined effect. Although some data exist for the efficacy of tDCS in chronic stroke cohorts, the application in acute stroke (< 1 month), in particular of cathodal tDCS, has not been previously reported.
Source: BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Abstracts Presented at NYC Neuromodulation 2013 Source Type: research