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tDCS application for motor rehabilitation

Edited by Rodrigo Vitório, Samuel Stuart, Leigh Charvet and Alan Godfrey.

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An increasing number of studies highlight the potential application of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for motor rehabilitation in neurological diseases as well as in healthy aging. tDCS is a technique where a constant weak electric current is passed through scalp electrodes and has been shown to modulate excitability in both cortical and subcortical brain areas. Although the results of tDCS interventions for motor rehabilitation are still preliminary, they encourage further research to better understand its therapeutic potential and to inform optimal clinical use.  

This collection of articles in Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation aims to present the most recent advances in tDCS for motor rehabilitation, addressing topics such as theoretical, methodological, and practical approaches to be considered when designing tDCS-based rehabilitation. Submissions of both experimental and review studies is encouraged.

This collection of articles has not been sponsored and articles have undergone the journal's standard peer-review process overseen by the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors. The Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors declare no competing interests.

  1. Older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) are often subject to cognitive and gait deficits. Interactive Computerized Cognitive Training (ICCT) may improve cognitive function; however, the effect of suc...

    Authors: Chi Ieong Lau, Mu-N Liu, Fang-Yu Cheng, Han-Cheng Wang, Vincent Walsh and Ying-Yi Liao
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2024 21:26
  2. Bihemispheric transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the primary motor cortex (M1) can simultaneously modulate bilateral corticospinal excitability and interhemispheric interaction. However, how tDC...

    Authors: Shih-Pin Hsu, Chia-Feng Lu, Bing-Fong Lin, Chih-Wei Tang, I-Ju Kuo, Yun-An Tsai, Chao-Yu Guo, Po-Lei Lee, Kuo-Kai Shyu, David M. Niddam and I-Hui Lee
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2023 20:27
  3. In recent years, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been used for motor function recovery. However, the effects of NIBS in populations with spinal cord injury (SCI) remain unclear. This study aims to co...

    Authors: Jian-Min Chen, Xiao-Lu Li, Qin-He Pan, Ye Yang, Sen-Ming Xu and Jian-Wen Xu
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2023 20:3
  4. Functional impairments derived from the non-use of severely affected upper limb after stroke have been proposed to be mitigated by action observation and imagination-based techniques, whose effectiveness is en...

    Authors: Roberto Llorens, María Antonia Fuentes, Adrián Borrego, Jorge Latorre, Mariano Alcañiz, Carolina Colomer and Enrique Noé
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2021 18:108
  5. Investigation of lobule-specific electric field effects of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (ctDCS) on overground gait performance has not been performed, so this study aimed to investigate t...

    Authors: Dhaval Solanki, Zeynab Rezaee, Anirban Dutta and Uttama Lahiri
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2021 18:18
  6. The timing of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with neurorehabilitation interventions may affect its modulatory effects. Motor function has been reported to be modulated by the timing of tDCS; ho...

    Authors: Wan-wen Liao, Wei-chi Chiang, Keh-chung Lin, Ching-yi Wu, Chien-ting Liu, Yu-wei Hsieh, Yun-chung Lin and Chia-ling Chen
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2020 17:101
  7. Pharmacologic therapy is the primary treatment used to manage Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms. However, it becomes less effective with time and some symptoms do not respond to medication. Complementary inter...

    Authors: Victor Spiandor Beretta, Núbia Ribeiro Conceição, Priscila Nóbrega-Sousa, Diego Orcioli-Silva, Luana Karla Braz Fonseca Dantas, Lilian Teresa Bucken Gobbi and Rodrigo Vitório
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2020 17:74
  8. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive technique used to modulate neural tissue. Neuromodulation apparently improves cognitive functions in several neurologic diseases treatment and s...

    Authors: Edgard Morya, Kátia Monte-Silva, Marom Bikson, Zeinab Esmaeilpour, Claudinei Eduardo Biazoli Jr, Andre Fonseca, Tommaso Bocci, Faranak Farzan, Raaj Chatterjee, Jeffrey M. Hausdorff, Daniel Gomes da Silva Machado, André Russowsky Brunoni, Eva Mezger, Luciane Aparecida Moscaleski, Rodrigo Pegado, João Ricardo Sato…
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2019 16:141
  9. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that has shown promise for rehabilitation after stroke. Ipsilesional anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) over the motor cortex incr...

    Authors: Milou J. M. Coppens, Wouter H. A. Staring, Jorik Nonnekes, Alexander C. H. Geurts and Vivian Weerdesteyn
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2019 16:136
  10. Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) is an easy-to-apply, cheap, and safe technique capable of affecting cortical brain activity. However, its effectiveness has not been proven for many clinical appl...

    Authors: Rubén Hernández de Paz, Diego Serrano-Muñoz, Soraya Pérez-Nombela, Elisabeth Bravo-Esteban, Juan Avendaño-Coy and Julio Gómez-Soriano
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2019 16:114
  11. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been investigated over the years due to its short and also long-term effects on cortical excitability and neuroplasticity. Although its mechanisms to improve ...

    Authors: Isadora Santos Ferreira, Beatriz Teixeira Costa, Clara Lima Ramos, Pedro Lucena, Aurore Thibaut and Felipe Fregni
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2019 16:90
  12. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the treatment effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on functional locomotion in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

    Authors: Hyo Keun Lee, Se Ji Ahn, Yang Mi Shin, Nyeonju Kang and James H. Cauraugh
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2019 16:84

    The Correction to this article has been published in Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2019 16:139

  13. Progressive cerebellar ataxia is a neurodegenerative disorder without effective treatment options that seriously hinders quality of life. Previously, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been dem...

    Authors: Giuseppina Pilloni, Michael Shaw, Charles Feinberg, Ashley Clayton, Maria Palmeri, Abhishek Datta and Leigh E. Charvet
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2019 16:41
  14. After traumatic brain injury (TBI), motor impairment is less common than neurocognitive or behavioral problems. However, about 30% of TBI survivors have reported motor deficits limiting the activities of daily...

    Authors: Won-Seok Kim, Kiwon Lee, Seonghoon Kim, Sungmin Cho and Nam-Jong Paik
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2019 16:14
  15. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has the potential to improve motor function in a range of neurological conditions, including Cerebral Palsy (CP). Although there have been many studies assessing ...

    Authors: Melanie K. Fleming, Tim Theologis, Rachel Buckingham and Heidi Johansen-Berg
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2018 15:121
  16. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a potentially useful tool to improve upper limb rehabilitation outcomes after stroke, although its effects in this regard have shown to be limited so far. Addi...

    Authors: Bernhard Elsner, Joachim Kugler and Jan Mehrholz
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2018 15:106
  17. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an effective neuromodulation adjunct to repetitive motor training in promoting motor recovery post-stroke. Finger tracking training is motor training whereby p...

    Authors: Ann Van de Winckel, James R. Carey, Teresa A. Bisson, Elsa C. Hauschildt, Christopher D. Streib and William K. Durfee
    Citation: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2018 15:83