Transcranial direct current stimulation disrupts tactile perception

The European Journal of Neuroscience
Andreas RogalewskiStefan Knecht

Abstract

The excitability of the cerebral cortex can be modulated by various transcranial stimulation techniques. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) offers the advantage of portable equipment and could, therefore, be used for ambulatory modulation of brain excitability. However, modulation of cortical excitability by tDCS has so far mostly been shown by indirect measures. Therefore, we examined whether tDCS has a direct behavioral/perceptional effect. We compared tactile discrimination of vibratory stimuli to the left ring finger prior to, during and after tDCS applied for 7 min at 1-mA current intensity in 13 subjects. Stimulation was pseudorandomized into cathodal, anodal and sham conditions in a within-subject design. The active electrode was placed over the corresponding somatosensory cortex at C4 according to the 10-20 EEG system and the reference electrode at the forehead above the contralateral orbita. Cathodal stimulation compared with sham induced a prolonged decrease of tactile discrimination, while anodal and sham stimulation did not. Thus, cortical processing can be modulated in a behaviorally/perceptually meaningful way by weak transcranial current stimulation applied through portable technology. This finding of...Continue Reading

Associated Clinical Trials

Jul 25, 2017·Mario Stampanoni Bassi

References

May 11, 1985·Lancet·A T BarkerI L Freeston
Nov 1, 1968·Anesthesia and Analgesia·S Rush, D A Driscoll
May 22, 1980·Nature·P A Merton, H B Morton
Oct 11, 1996·Neuroscience Letters·S KnechtE B Ringelstein
Apr 15, 1999·Journal of the Neurological Sciences·J Mally, T W Stone
Feb 17, 2001·Magnetic Resonance in Medicine : Official Journal of the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine·J BaudewigJ Frahm
Dec 6, 2001·Neuroreport·A AntalW Paulus
Jan 5, 2002·Neurology·S KnechtE B Ringelstein
Apr 11, 2003·Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology·Michael A NitscheWalter Paulus
Apr 17, 2003·Experimental Brain Research·Andrea AntalWalter Paulus

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Oct 20, 2006·Experimental Brain Research·Neri AccorneroBruno Gregori
Oct 13, 2011·Experimental Brain Research·Liron JacobsonMichal Lavidor
Apr 12, 2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Javier Márquez-RuizJosé María Delgado-García
May 24, 2011·Neuropsychological Rehabilitation·Giuseppe Vallar, Nadia Bolognini
May 15, 2007·Cephalalgia : an International Journal of Headache·Z ChadaideW Paulus
Jul 1, 2010·Neuromodulation : Journal of the International Neuromodulation Society·Dede Ukueberuwa, Eric M Wassermann
Sep 23, 2006·Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience·Ahmed A KarimBen Godde
Jan 15, 2014·Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology·Shuhei FujimotoSatoshi Tanaka
Feb 22, 2014·Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology·B VaseghiS Jaberzadeh
Oct 1, 2008·Pain Medicine : the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine·Gabor CsifcsakWalter Paulus
Oct 8, 2014·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Annette WestgeestJosep Valls-Sole
Jul 1, 2008·Brain Stimulation·Michael A NitscheAlvaro Pascual-Leone
Jul 1, 2008·Brain Stimulation·Ulf ZiemannJohn C Rothwell
Jan 22, 2008·Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology·Patrick RagertLeonardo G Cohen
Sep 29, 2007·Brain Research Reviews·Gregory BeenPaul B Fitzgerald
Mar 3, 2007·Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology·J E DundasF L Mastaglia
Oct 27, 2015·Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience·Claire J HanleyDavid J McGonigle
Jan 15, 2015·Brain Stimulation·Adam J WoodsRoy Hamilton
Jan 10, 2012·Journal of Sleep Research·Antonia J JakobsonRussell Conduit
Dec 18, 2012·Neuromodulation : Journal of the International Neuromodulation Society·Ali ZandiehHamed Ekhtiari
Aug 24, 2013·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Nora K SchaalMichael J Banissy
Aug 26, 2006·Clinical Neurophysiology : Official Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology·Anne DieckhöferRené Gobbelé
Feb 7, 2006·Brain Research Bulletin·Andrea AntalWalter Paulus
Sep 27, 2005·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Eric M Wassermann, Jordan Grafman
Jul 4, 2015·Attention, Perception & Psychophysics·Thiago L CostaDora F Ventura
Feb 28, 2015·Neuropsychologia·Lucia B RoyMaike D Hesse

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Barrel cortex

Here is the latest research on barrel cortex, a region of somatosensory and motor corticies in the brain, which are used by animals that rely on whiskers for world exploration.