Brain Stimul
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of a non-focal plasticity protocol on apathy in moderate Alzheimer's disease: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial.
Apathy is the most common neuropsychiatric symptom in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and it is associated with changes in prefrontal neural circuits involved with generation of voluntary actions. To date no effective treatment for apathy has been demonstrated. ⋯ In this adequately powered study for minimal clinically significant difference, our findings show that using the parameters we chose for this study, repeated anodal tDCS over the left DLPFC had no effect on apathy in elderly patients with moderate AD.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Functional MRI-navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over supplementary motor area in chronic tic disorders.
Open label studies have shown repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to be effective in reducing tics. ⋯ Active, fMRI-navigated cTBS administered in 8 sessions over 2 days to the SMA induced significant inhibition in the motor network (SMA, bilateral M1). However, both groups on average experienced tic reduction at 7 days. Larger sample size and protocol modifications may be needed to produce clinically significant tic reduction beyond placebo effect.
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Motor cortex stimulation (MCS) is a potentially effective treatment for chronic neuropathic pain. The neural mechanisms underlying the reduction of hyperalgesia and allodynia after MCS are not completely understood. ⋯ These findings suggest that, in animals with SCL, MCS attenuates hypersensitivity by suppressing activity in the primary somatosensory cortex and prefrontal cortex.
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Epilepsy is a common neurological disease affecting over 40 million people worldwide. The foremost important challenge of epileptologists has been to control and predict the recurrent and spontaneous seizures of epileptic patients. The application of low frequency electrical stimulation (LFS) in deep brain structures has shown promising results in seizure control. However, the use of LFS as a probing strategy for seizure prediction, thus contributing to a closed loop solution, is still poorly explored. ⋯ ES induces a detectable temporal rearrangement of pre-ictal activity, which has suggestive applicability to seizure prediction.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Concurrent cognitive control training augments the antidepressant efficacy of tDCS: a pilot study.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is frequently associated with underactivity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) which has led to this brain region being identified as an important target for the development of neurobiological treatments. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) administered to the DLPFC has antidepressant efficacy, however the magnitude of antidepressant outcomes are limited. Concurrent cognitive activity has been shown to enhance tDCS induced stimulation effects. Cognitive control training (CCT) is a new cognitive therapy for MDD that aims to enhance DLPFC activity via behavioral methods. ⋯ The results provide preliminary evidence that concurrent CCT enhances antidepressant outcomes from tDCS. In the current sample, participants receiving concurrent tDCS and CCT continued to improve following cessation of treatment. The clinical superiority of a combined therapeutic approach was apparent even in a small sample and following a relatively short treatment course.