Transcranial direct current stimulation in stroke rehabilitation: a review of recent advancements.

Transcranial direct current stimulation in stroke rehabilitation: a review of recent advancements. Stroke Res Treat. 2013;2013:170256 Authors: Gomez Palacio Schjetnan A, Faraji J, Metz GA, Tatsuno M, Luczak A Abstract Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising technique to treat a wide range of neurological conditions including stroke. The pathological processes following stroke may provide an exemplary system to investigate how tDCS promotes neuronal plasticity and functional recovery. Changes in synaptic function after stroke, such as reduced excitability, formation of aberrant connections, and deregulated plastic modifications, have been postulated to impede recovery from stroke. However, if tDCS could counteract these negative changes by influencing the system's neurophysiology, it would contribute to the formation of functionally meaningful connections and the maintenance of existing pathways. This paper is aimed at providing a review of underlying mechanisms of tDCS and its application to stroke. In addition, to maximize the effectiveness of tDCS in stroke rehabilitation, future research needs to determine the optimal stimulation protocols and parameters. We discuss how stimulation parameters could be optimized based on electrophysiological activity. In particular, we propose that cortical synchrony may represent a biomarker of tDCS efficacy to indicate communication between affected areas. Understanding the ...
Source: Stroke Research and Treatment - Category: Neurology Tags: Stroke Res Treat Source Type: research