A description and critical analysis of the therapeutic uses of transcranial direct current stimulation: implications for clinical practice and research

References

• Poreisz C, Boros K, Antal A, Paulus W. Safety aspects of transcranial direct current stimulation concerning healthy subjects and patients. Brain Res Bull. 2007;72(4–6):208–214.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nitsche MA, Fricke K, Henschke U, et al. Pharmacological modulation of cortical excitability shifts induced by transcranial direct current stimulation in humans. J Physiol. 2003;553(pt 1):293–301.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nitsche MA, Lampe C, Antal A, et al. Dopaminergic modulation of long-lasting direct current-induced cortical excitability changes in the human motor cortex. Eur J Neurosci. 2006;23(6):1651–1657.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Stagg CJ, Best JG, Stephenson MC, et al. Polarity-sensitive modulation of cortical neurotransmitters by transcranial stimulation. J Neurosci. 2009;29(16):5202–5206.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Creutzfeldt OD, Fromm GH, Kapp H. Influence of transcortical d-c currents on cortical neuronal activity. Exp Neurol. 1962;5:436–452.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wachter D, Wrede A, Schulz-Schaeffer W, et al. Transcranial direct current stimulation induces polarity-specific changes of cortical blood perfusion in the rat. Exp Neurol. 2011;227(2):322–327.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Clark VP, Coffman BA, Mayer AR, et al. TDCS guided using fMRI significantly accelerates learning to identify concealed objects. Neuroimage. 2012;59(1):117–128.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fregni F, Liguori P, Fecteau S, Nitsche MA, Pascual-Leone A, Boggio PS. Cortical stimulation of the prefrontal cortex with transcranial direct current stimulation reduces cue-provoked smoking craving: a randomized, sham-controlled study. J Clin Psychiatry. 2008;69(1):32–40.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yook SW, Park SH, Seo JH, Kim SJ, Ko MH. Suppression of seizure by cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation in an epileptic patient: a case report. Ann Rehabil Med. 2011;35:579–582.
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Elmasry J, Loo C, Martin D. A systematic review of transcranial electrical stimulation combined with cognitive training. Restor Neurol Neurosci. 2015;33(3):263–278.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nitsche MA, Cohen LG, Wassermann EM, et al. Transcranial direct current stimulation: state of the art 2008. Brain Stimulat. 2008;1(3):206–223.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Boggio PS, Rigonatti SP, Ribeiro RB, et al. A randomized, double-blind clinical trial on the efficacy of cortical direct current stimulation for the treatment of major depression. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2008;11(2):249–254.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brunoni AR, Valiengo L, Baccaro A, et al. The sertraline vs electrical current therapy for treating depression clinical study: results from a factorial, randomized, controlled trial. J Am Med Assoc Psychiatry. 2013;70(4):391–393.
   Google Scholar
• Knotkova H, Rosedale M, Strauss SM, et al. Using transcranial direct current stimulation to treat depression in HIV-infected persons: the outcomes of a feasibility study. Front Psychiatry. 2012;3:59.
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Vance DE, Mugavero M, Willig J, Raper JL, Saag MS. Aging with HIV: a cross-sectional study of co-morbidity prevalence and clinical characteristics across decades of life. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2011; 22(1):17–25.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nitsche MA, Liebetanz D, Schlitterlau A, et al. GABAergic modulation of DC stimulation-induced motor cortex excitability shifts in humans. Eur J Neurosci. 2004;19(10):2720–2726.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Boggio PS, Liguori P, Sultani N, Rezende L, Fecteau S, Fregni F. Cumulative priming effects of cortical stimulation on smoking cue-induced craving. Neurosci Lett. 2009;463(1):82–86.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pedron S, Monnin J, Haffen E, Sechter D, Van Waes V. Repeated transcranial direct current stimulation prevents abnormal behaviors associated with abstinence from chronic nicotine consumption. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2014;39(4):981–988.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Conti CL, Moscon JA, Fregni F, Nitsche MA, Nakamura-Palacios EM. Cognitive related electrophysiological changes induced by non-invasive cortical electrical stimulation in crack-cocaine addiction. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2014;17(9):1465–1475.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Klauss J, Penido Pinheiro LC, Silva Merlo BL, et al. A randomized controlled trial of targeted prefrontal cortex modulation with tDCS in patients with alcohol dependence. Int J Neuropsychophramcol. 2014;17(11):1793–1803.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kekic M, McClelland J, Campbell I, et al. The effects of prefrontal cortex transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on food craving and temporal discounting in women with frequent food cravings. Appetite. 2014;78(1):55–62.
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Foerster BR, Nascimento TD, DeBoer M, et al. Excitatory and inhibitory brain metabolites as targets of motor cortex transcranial direct current stimulation therapy and predictors of its efficacy in fibromyalgia. Arthritis Rhematol. 2015;67(2):576–581.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ngernyam N, Jensen MP, Arayawichanon P, et al. The effects of transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with neuropathic pain from spinal cord injury. Neurophysiol Clin. 2015;126(2):382–390.
   Google Scholar
• Fregni F, Boggio PS, Lima MC, et al. A sham-controlled, phase II trial of transcranial direct current stimulation of the treatment of central pain in traumatic spinal cord injury. Pain. 2006;122:197–209.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mori F, Codecà C, Kusayanagi H, et al. Effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on chronic neuropathic pain in patients with multiple sclerosis. J Pain. 2010;11(5):436–442.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• DaSilva AF, Mendonca ME, Zaghi S, et al. tDCS-induced analgesia and electrical fields in pain-related neural networks in chronic migraine. Headache. 2012;52(8):1283–1295.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zaghi S, Thiele B, Pimentel D, Pimentel T, Fregni F. Assessment and treatment of pain with non-invasive cortical stimulation. Restor Neurol Neurosci. 2011;29(6):439–451.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• McIntire L, McKinely RA, Goodyear C, Nelson J. A comparison of the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation and caffeine on vigilance and cognitive performance during extended wakefulness. Brain Stimulat. 2014;7(4):499–507.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Doruk D, Gray Z, Bravo GL, Pascual-Leone A, Fregni F. Effects of tDCS on executive function in Parkinson’s disease. Neurosci Lett. 2014;582:27–31.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Elsner B, Kugler J, Pohl M, Mehrholz J. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;7:CD010916.
   Google Scholar
• Kaski D, Dominguez RO, Allum JH, Islam AF, Bronstein AM. Combining physical training with transcranial direct current stimulation to improve gait in Parkinson’s disease: a pilot randomized controlled study. Clin Rehabil. 2014;28(11):1115–1124.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hendy AM, Tillman A, Rantalainen T, et al. Concurrent transcranial direct current stimulation and progressive resistance training in Parkinson’s disease: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2016;17(1):326.
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Flöel A. tDCS-enhanced motor and cognitive function in neurological diseases. Neuroimage. 2013;85(pt 3):934–947.
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Snowball A, Tachtsidis I, Popescu T, et al. Long-term enhancement of brain function and cognition using cognitive training and brain stimulation. Curr Biol. 2013;23(11):987–992.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Huey ED, Probasco JC, Moll J, et al. No effect of DC brain polarization on verbal fluency in patients with advanced frontotemporal dementia. Neurophysiol Clin. 2007;118(6):1417–1418.
   Google Scholar
• Quartarone A, Lang N, Rizzo V, et al. Motor cortex abnormalities in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with transcranial direct-current stimulation. Muscle Nerve. 2007;35(5):620–624.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kuo MF, Paulus W, Nitsche MA. Sex differences of cortical neuroplasticity in humans. Neuroreport. 2006;17:1703–1707.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Liebetanz D, Nitsche MA, Tergau F, Paulus W. Pharmacological approach to the mechanisms of transcranial DC-stimulation-induced after-effects of human motor cortex excitability. Brain. 2002;125(pt 10): 2238–2247.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nitsche MA, Grundey J, Liebetanz D, Tergau F, Paulus W. Catecholaminergic consolidation of motor cortical neuroplasticity in humans. Cereb Cortex. 2004;14(11):1240–1245.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nitsche MA, Liebetanz D, Antal A, Lang N, Tergau F, Paulus W. Modulation of cortical excitability by weak direct current stimulation – technical, safety and functional aspects. Suppl Clin Neurophysiol. 2003;56:255–276.
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Palm U, Keeser D, Schiller C, Fintescu Z, Reisinger E, Padberg F. Skin lesions after treatment with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Brain Stimulat. 2008;1(4):386–387.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fox D. Brain buzz. Nature. 2011;472:156–159.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nitsche MA, Paulus W. Sustained excitability elevations induced by transcranial DC motor cortex stimulation in humans. Neurology. 2001;57(10):1898–1901.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rigonatti SP, Boggio PS, Myczkowski ML, et al. Transcranial direct stimulation and fluoxetine for the treatment of depression. Eur Psychiatry. 2008;23:74–76.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• O’Neill F, Sacco P, Nurmikko T. Evaluation of a home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) treatment device for chronic pain: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2015;16(1):186.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Smit M, Schutter DJ, Nijboer TC, et al. Transcranial direct current stimulation to the parietal cortex in hemispatial neglect: a feasibility study. Neuropsychologia. 2015;74:152–161.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• San-Juan D, Morales-Quezada L, Orozco Garduño AJ, et al. Transcranial direct current stimulation in epilepsy. Brain Stimul. 2015;8(3): 455–464.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Davis NJ. Transcranial stimulation of the developing brain: a plea for extreme caution. Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:600.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sanders L. At-home brain stimulation gaining followers. Science News, 186(10):22
   Google Scholar
• Cohen Kadosh R, Levy N, O’Shea J, Shea N, Savulescu J. The neuroethics of non-invasive brain stimulation. Curr Biol. 2012;22(4):R108–R111.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fertonani A, Pirulli C, Miniussi C. Random noise stimulation improves neuroplasticity in perceptual learning. J Neurosci. 2011;31(43): 15416–15423.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Terney D, Chaieb L, Moliadze V, Antal A, Paulus W. Increasing human brain excitability by transcranial high-frequency random noise stimulation. J Neurosci. 2008;28(52):14147–14155.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Guleyupoglu B, Schestatsky P, Edwards D, Fregni F, Bikson M. Classification of methods in transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) and evolving strategy from historical approaches to contemporary innovations. J Neurosci Methods. 2013;219(2):297–311.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Novakovic V, Sher L, Lapidus KA, Mindes J, Golier AJ, Yehuda R. Brain stimulation in posttraumatic stress disorder. Eur J Psychotraumatol. Epub 2011 Oct 17;2.
   Google Scholar