Polarity and timing-dependent effects of transcranial direct current stimulation in explicit motor learning.

ABSTRACT: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is attracting increasing interest as a therapeutic tool for neurorehabilitation, particularly after stroke, because of its potential to modulate local excitability and therefore promote functional plasticity. Previous studies suggest that timing is important in determining the behavioural effects of brain stimulation. Regulatory metaplastic mechanisms exist to modulate the effects of a stimulation intervention in a manner dependent on prior cortical excitability, thereby preventing destabilization of existing cortical networks. The importance of such timing dependence has not yet been fully explored for tDCS. Here, we describe the results of a series of behavioural experiments in healthy controls to determine the importance of the relative tim

SUBMITTER: Stagg CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3083512 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature