Daily transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) leads to greater increases in cortical excitability than second daily transcranial direct current stimulation

Background Evidence from recent clinical trials suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may have potential in treating neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the optimal frequency at which tDCS sessions should be administered is unknown. Objective/Hypothesis This study investigate...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain stimulation 2012-07, Vol.5 (3), p.208-213
Main Authors: Alonzo, Angelo, Brassil, Joseph, Taylor, Janet L, Martin, Donel, Loo, Colleen K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
cortical excitability
daily
Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
Evoked Potentials, Motor - physiology
Evoked Potentials, Motor - radiation effects
Humans
Male
motor cortex
Motor Cortex - physiology
Motor Cortex - radiation effects
Neurology
Radiation Dosage
stimulation parameters
transcranial direct current stimulation
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation - methods
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background Evidence from recent clinical trials suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may have potential in treating neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the optimal frequency at which tDCS sessions should be administered is unknown. Objective/Hypothesis This study investigated the effects of daily or second daily tDCS sessions on motor cortical excitability, over a 5-day period. Methods Twelve healthy volunteers received daily or second daily sessions of tDCS to the left primary motor cortex over the study period, in a randomized, intraindividual crossover design. Motor cortical excitability was assessed before and after tDCS at each session through responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation. Results Over a fixed 5-day period, tDCS induced greater increases in MEP amplitude when given daily rather than second daily. Analyses showed that this difference reflected greater cumulative effects between sessions rather than a greater response to each individual tDCS session. Conclusions These results demonstrate that in the motor cortex of healthy volunteers, tDCS alters cortical excitability more effectively when given daily rather than second daily over a 5-day period.
ISSN:1935-861X
1876-4754
DOI:10.1016/j.brs.2011.04.006