Complex manual tasks-everything from buttoning up a shirt to playing the piano-fundamentally involve two components: (1) generating specific patterns of muscle activity (here, termed "synergies"); and (2) stringing these into purposeful sequences. Although transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the primary motor cortex (M1) has been found to increase the learning of motor sequences, ...

Two recent sham-controlled studies found that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was an effective treatment for depression. As tDCS is painless, relatively safe and inexpensive, its efficacy in treating depression warrants further investigation. This double-blind, randomized study tested tDCS at the same stimulation parameters as a previous positive study (1 mA current strength, fiv...

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 connectio...

Pain that occurs after a stroke lowers the quality of life. Such post-stroke pain is caused in part by the brain lesion itself, called central post-stroke pain. We investigated the analgesic effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in stroke patients through quantitative sensory testing. Fourteen participants with central post-stroke pain (7 female and 7 male subjects) were rec...

Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (C-tDCS) has been reported, across different studies, to facilitate or hinder performance, or simply to have no tangible effect on behavior. This discrepancy is most prominent when C-tDCS is used to alter a cognitive function, questioning the assumption that cathodal stimulation always compromises performance. In this study, we aimed to study the...

Previous research suggests that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) modulates NMDA receptor dependent processes that mediate synaptic plasticity. Here we test this proposal by applying anodal versus sham tDCS while subjects practiced to flex the thumb as fast as possible (ballistic movements). Repetitive practice of this task has been shown t...

OBJECTIVE Though tDCS is well tolerated, it is desirable to further limit the voltage applied for additional safety factors and optimized device design. We investigated the minimum voltage required for tDCS using 1.5 and 2.5mA. METHODS Impedance data has been collected prior to, during and after 18 tDCS sessions, using 1.5mA and 2.5mA tDCS currents and three different test current magnitudes....

OBJECTIVE Brain-computer interface technology has been applied to stroke patients to improve their motor function. Event-related desynchronization during motor imagery, which is used as a brain-computer interface trigger, is sometimes difficult to detect in stroke patients. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is known to increase event-related desynchronization. This study inv...

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) modulates the excitability of neuronal responses and consequently can affect performance on a variety of cognitive tasks. However, the interaction between cognitive load and the effects of tDCS is currently not well-understood. We recorded the performance accuracy of participants on a bilateral multiple object tracking task while undergoing bilater...

In the last decade, radiological neuroimaging techniques have enhanced the study of mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain. Recent findings suggest that neuropathic pain in certain pain syndromes (e.g., complex regional pain syndrome/reflex sympathic dystrophy, phantom-limb pain) is associated with a functional reorganization and hyperexitability of the somat...