Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is used to modulate neuronal activity, but the exact mechanism of action (MOA) is unclear. This study investigates tDCS-induced modulation of the corticospinal excitability and the underlying MOA. By anesthetizing the scalp before applying tDCS and by stimulating the cheeks, we investigated whether stimulation of peripheral and/or cranial nerves contributes to the effects of tDCS on corticospinal excitability.
Materials And Methods: In a randomized cross-over study, four experimental conditions with anodal direct current stimulation were compared in 19 healthy volunteers: 1) tDCS over the motor cortex (tDCS-MI), 2) tDCS over the motor cortex with a locally applied topical anesthetic (TA) on the scalp (tDCS-MI + TA), 3) DCS over the cheek region (DCS-C), and 4) sham tDCS over the motor cortex(sham). tDCS was applied for 20 minutes at 1 mA. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were measured before tDCS and immediately, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after tDCS. A questionnaire was used to assess the tolerability of tDCS.
Results: A significant MEP amplitude increase compared with baseline was found 30 minutes after tDCS-MI, an effect still observed 60 minutes later; no time∗condition interaction effect was detected. In the other three conditions (tDCS-MI + TA, DCS-C, sham), no significant MEP modulation was found. The questionnaire indicated that side effects are significantly lower when the local anesthetic was applied before stimulation than in the other three conditions.
Conclusions: The significant MEP amplitude increase observed from 30 minutes on after tDCS-MI supports the modulatory effect of tDCS on corticospinal neurotransmission. This effect lasted one hour after stimulation. The absence of a significant modulation when a local anesthetic was applied suggests that effects of tDCS are not solely established through direct cortical stimulation but that stimulation of peripheral and/or cranial nerves also might contribute to tDCS-induced modulation.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neurom.2024.05.002 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Bridging thrombolysis versus direct endovascular treatment in acute vertebrobasilar artery complex occlusion.
J Neurosurg
January 2025
1Department of Neurology, Centre for Leading Medicine and Advanced Technologies of IHM, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui.
Objective: Endovascular treatment (EVT) is an effective treatment for patients with acute vertebrobasilar artery complex occlusion (VBAO). However, the benefit of bridging thrombolysis prior to EVT remains controversial. The purpose of the present study is to explore the best treatment strategy between bridging treatment (BT) and direct EVT in patients with acute VBAO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Financial toxicity is the detrimental impact of health care costs that must be mitigated to achieve universal health coverage. Catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) is widely used to measure financial toxicity but does not capture patient perspectives of unaffordable health care costs. Financial hardship (FH), a patient-reported outcome measure, is currently underutilized but may be an important adjunct metric.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin-Integrated Electrogenetic Regulation of Vasculature for Accelerated Wound Healing.
Adv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
ETH Zurich, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Klingelbergstrasse 48, Basel, CH-4056, Switzerland.
Neo-vascularization plays a key role in achieving long-term viability of engineered cells contained in medical implants used in precision medicine. Moreover, strategies to promote neo-vascularization around medical implants may also be useful to promote the healing of deep wounds. In this context, a biocompatible, electroconductive borophene-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) 3D platform is developed, which is called VOLT, to support designer cells engineered with a direct-current (DC) voltage-controlled gene circuit that drives secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScreening the human miRNA interactome reveals coordinated up-regulation in melanoma, adding bidirectional regulation to miRNA networks.
Sci Adv
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Cellular protein expression is coordinated posttranscriptionally by an intricate regulatory network. The current presumption is that microRNAs (miRNAs) work by repression of functionally related targets within a system. In recent work, up-regulation of protein expression via direct interactions of messenger RNA with miRNA has been found in dividing cells, providing an additional mechanism of regulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnzymatic Cascades for Stereoselective and Regioselective Amide Bond Assembly.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
January 2025
The University of Manchester, School of Chemistry & Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, 131 Princess Street, M1 7DN, Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND.
Amide bond formation is fundamental in nature and is widely used in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other valuable products. Current methods for amide synthesis are often step and atom inefficient, requiring the use of protecting groups, deleterious reagents and organic solvents that create significant waste. The development of cleaner and more efficient catalytic methods for amide synthesis remains an urgent unmet need.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!