Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Treatment of Auditory Hallucination: A Systematic Review of Clinical Efficacy

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 198-202
Author(s):  
Golshan Mirmomeni ◽  
Soheila Nikakhlagh ◽  
Nader Saki ◽  
Arash Bayat
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 2981
Author(s):  
Andrés Pino-Esteban ◽  
Álvaro Megía-García ◽  
David Martín-Caro Álvarez ◽  
Hector Beltran-Alacreu ◽  
Juan Avendaño-Coy ◽  
...  

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive, easy to administer, well-tolerated, and safe technique capable of affecting brain excitability, both at the cortical and cerebellum levels. However, its effectiveness has not been sufficiently assessed in all population segments or clinical applications. This systematic review aimed at compiling and summarizing the currently available scientific evidence about the effect of tDCS on functionality in older adults over 60 years of age. A search of databases was conducted to find randomized clinical trials that applied tDCS versus sham stimulation in the above-mentioned population. No limits were established in terms of date of publication. A total of 237 trials were found, of which 24 met the inclusion criteria. Finally, nine studies were analyzed, including 260 healthy subjects with average age between 61.0 and 85.8 years. Seven of the nine included studies reported superior improvements in functionality variables following the application of tDCS compared to sham stimulation. Anodal tDCS applied over the motor cortex may be an effective technique for improving balance and posture control in healthy older adults. However, further high-quality randomized controlled trials are required to determine the most effective protocols and to clarify potential benefits for older adults.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fateme Pol ◽  
Mohammad Ali Salehinejad ◽  
Hamzeh Baharlouei ◽  
Michael A. Nitsche

Abstract Background Gait problems are an important symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a neuromodulatory intervention that can modulate cortical excitability of the gait-related regions. Despite an increasing number of gait-related tDCS studies in PD, the efficacy of this technique for improving gait has not been systematically investigated yet. Here, we aimed to systematically explore the effects of tDCS on gait in PD, based on available experimental studies. Methods Using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PEDro databases were searched for randomized clinical trials assessing the effect of tDCS on gait in patients with PD. Results Eighteen studies were included in this systematic review. Overall, tDCS targeting the motor cortex and supplementary motor area bilaterally seems to be promising for gait rehabilitation in PD. Studies of tDCS targeting the dorosolateral prefrontal cortex or cerebellum showed more heterogeneous results. More studies are needed to systematically compare the efficacy of different tDCS protocols, including protocols applying tDCS alone and/or in combination with conventional gait rehabilitation treatment in PD. Conclusions tDCS is a promising intervention approach to improving gait in PD. Anodal tDCS over the motor areas has shown a positive effect on gait, but stimulation of other areas is less promising. However, the heterogeneities of methods and results have made it difficult to draw firm conclusions. Therefore, systematic explorations of tDCS protocols are required to optimize the efficacy.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darias Holgado ◽  
Miguel A. Vadillo ◽  
Daniel Sanabria

Objective: To examine the effectss of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on objective and subjective indexes of exercise performance.Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Data Sources: A systematic literature search of electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar) and reference lists of included articles up to June 2018.Eligibility Criteria: Published articles in journals or in repositories with raw data available, randomized sham-controlled trial comparing anodal stimulation with a sham condition providing data on objective (e.g. time to exhaustion or time-trial performance) or subjective (e.g. rate of perceived exertion) indexes of exercise performance.Results: The initial search provided 420 articles of which 31 were assessed for eligibility. Finally, the analysis of effect sizes comprised 24 studies with 386 participants. The analysis indicated that anodal tDCS had a small but positive effect on performance g = 0.34, 95% CI [0.12, 0.52], z = 3.24, p = 0.0012. Effects were not significantly moderated by type of outcome, electrode placement, muscles involved, number of sessions, or intensity and duration of the stimulation. Importantly, the funnel plot showed that, overall, effect sizes tended to be larger in studies with lower sample size and high standard error. Summary: The results suggest that tDCS may have a positive impact on exercise performance. However, the effect is probably small and most likely biased by low quality studies and the selective publication of significant results. Therefore, the current evidence does not provide strong support to the conclusion that tDCS is an effective means to improve exercise performance.


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