Anodal tDCS over The Right Primary Somatosensory Cortex Increases Cough Reflex Sensitivity: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial

Background The cough reflex is a protective of the human body. Increases or decreases in sensitivity may be related to chronic cough, aspiration pneumonia, and/or other diseases. right primary somatosensory cortex (RS1) main activation center for urge-to-cough. Here, we discuss effects transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) RS1 on and We also explored role left dorsolateral prefrontal (lDLPFC) using tDCS. Methods Twenty-four healthy young adults completed this pilot randomized controlled crossover experiment. Each person was tested three times receiving, random order, anodal tDCS lDLPFC sham stimulation. intensity set 2 mA, time 30 min, interval between any two stimuli at least one week. After each intervention, citric acid challenge test immediately assessed urge-to-cough sensitivity. Results thresholds, expressed as LogC 5 , were significantly reduced after compared stimulation, accompanied by increased (Urge-to-cough log-log slope: 1.19±0.40 point·L·g −1 versus 0.92±0.33 p=0.001), but threshold did not change significantly. There no significant changes Conclusion Anodal can increase reduce threshold. reflex, well underlying mechanisms driving those effects, should further.