Trends in tDCS at SfN 2014

This year at SfN we had 20 posters and 2 nano-symposia featuring tDCS in the title from a similar number of labs. On the face of it this is very good for the field that so many labs are exploring the technology but I think it’s interesting that only 3 directly address the parameters of stimulation. Truing et al. looked at optimisation in general through modelling, Kim et al. looked at electrode position and Murray et al. looked at current intensity. The rest (or at least some of them) essentially apply some “standard” protocol.

We know that many factors potentially play a critical role when using tDCS, such as “electrode size and positioning, intensity, duration of stimulation, number of sessions per day, and interval between sessions”. See Clinical research with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS): challenges and future directions for a good overview of these and other aspects.

So while these results are interesting we should bear in mind that the parameter space is huge and not yet very well understood. For example, Michael Nitsche has recently shown that there are in fact some non-linear effects related to current intensities: “Cathodal stimulation so far thought to be the cornerstone in warranting cortical inhibition by tDCS loses this property with double intensity and instead induces excitation.” See Partially non-linear stimulation intensity-dependent effects of direct current stimulation on motor cortex excitability in humans. If we add interpersonal differences in cortical structure and brain-state at the time of stimulation to the mix we might expect very different results for very similar protocols. For our part we work closely with some of the leaders in the field to both model and understand these issues so that we can ultimately guide researchers in how best to design their protocols. I think this service will be key for the future of tCS research.

Posters:

J. J. BONAIUTO, A. DE BERKER, S. BESTMANN;

84.03/NN4 – Predicting the behavioral impact of tDCS on perceptual decision making with computational neurostimulation

Sobell Dept of Motor Neurosci. and Movement Disorders, Univ. Col. London, London, United Kingdom

X. ZHANG¹, R. MEESEN², S. SWINNEN¹, H. FEYS³, D. WOOLLEY¹, *N. WENDEROTH^4,1;

164.18/II6 – tDCS combined with training using a Muscle Computer Interface improves upper limb function in severely to moderately affected chronic stroke patients

¹KU Leuven, Motor Control Laboratory, Dept. of Kinesiology, Leuven, Belgium; ²REVAL Rehabil. Res. Centre, Biomed. Res. Inst., Hasselt University, Belgium; ³KU Leuven, Neuromotor Rehabil. Res. Group, Dept. of Rehabil. Sci., Leuven, Belgium;⁴Neural Control of Movement Lab, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

D. Q. TRUONG¹, M. ALAM², M. BIKSON²;

187.22/TT71 – Optimizing tDCS and HD-tDCS for clinical trials through computational models (and trial design)

¹Biomed. Engin., City Col. of New York, CUNY, New York, NY; ²Biomed. Engin., City Col. of New York, New York, NY

N. EGOROVA^1,2, R. YU^1,2, J. A. CAMPRODON^1,2, N. KAUR¹, D. D. DOUGHERTY^1,2, R. L. GOLLUB^1,2,3, J. KONG^1,2,3;

243.03/EE7 – Neuromodulation of conditioned placebo/nocebo cue effect in heat pain: Anodal vs. cathodal tDCS to the right DLPFC

¹Massachusetts Gen. Hosp., Charlestown, MA; ²Harvard Med. Sch., Boston, MA; ³MGH/MIT/HMS Athinoula A. Martinos Ctr. for Biomed. Imaging, Charlestown, MA

A. G. WITNEY¹, M. WONG², E. ALHASHEMI², V. RODRIGUES², C. DRAKEFORD²;

337.16/GG30 – Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (c-tDCS) modulates experimental pain thresholds

²Sch. of Med., ¹TCD, Dublin, Ireland

Y.-H. KIM^1,2, M. LEE², C.-H. IM³, J.-H. KIM³, A. LEE², C.-H. PARK¹, W. CHANG¹;

370.04/VV32 – What is the best position of tdcs anodal electrode to induce the corticomotor excitability change?

¹Physical Med. and Rehabil., Samsung Med. Cntr, Sungkyunkwan Univ., Seoul, Korea, Republic of; ²Grad. Sch. for Hlth. Sci. & Technology, Samsung Advanced Inst. for Hlth. Sci. and Technology, Sungkyunkwan Univ., Seoul, Korea, Republic of;³Dept. of Biomed. Engin., Hanyang Univ., Seoul, Korea, Republic of

S. R. SOEKADAR¹, S. E. ROBINSON², J. MELLINGER¹, L. G. COHEN³, N. BIRBAUMER^1,4, M. WITKOWSKI¹;

370.07/VV35 – Online control of ipsilesional mu-oscillations during transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the affected motor cortex in severe chronic stroke

¹Univ. Hosp. Tuebingen, Univ. of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany; ²MEG Core Group, NIMH, Bethesda, MD; ³Human Cortical Physiol. and Stroke Neurorehabilitation Section, NINDS, Bethesda, MD; ⁴Inst. di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Ospedale San Camillo, Venice, Italy

T. MURDISON^1,2,3, O. Y. LEE^1,2,3, D. STANDAGE^1,2,3, G. BLOHM^1,2,3;

438.18/II1 – HD-tDCS modulates decision response times

¹Ctr. for Neurosci. Studies, Queen’s Univ., Kingston, ON, Canada; ²Canadian Action and Perception Network (CAPnet), Toronto, ON, Canada; ³Assn. for Canadian Neuroinformatics and Computat. Neurosci. (CNCN), Kingston, ON, Canada

S. LABBÉ, E.-M. MEFTAH, C. E. CHAPMAN;

441.22/JJ23 – Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation, tDCS, of primary somatosensory cortex, S1, on detection of vibrotactile stimuli in humans

Univ. De Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

S. KOYAMA¹, S. TANAKA², S. TANABE³, N. SADATO¹;

456.11/SS2 – Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex during training enhances over-night consolidation of newly-learned ballistic thumb skill

¹Natl. Inst. For Physiological Sci., Okazaki/ Aichi, Japan; ²Hamamatsu Univ. Sch. of Med., Hamamatsu, Japan; ³Fujita Hlth. Univ., Aichi, Japan

F. DAMBACHER¹, T. SCHUHMANN¹, J. LOBBESTAEL², A. ARNTZ², S. BRUGMANN², A. T. SACK¹;

458.10/SS36 – Shifting the balance: Interfering with motor inhibition and reactive aggression by inducing fronto-cortical asymmetry using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

¹FPN, Cognitive Neurosci., ²FPN, Clin. Psychological Sci., Maastricht Univ., Maastricht, Netherlands

T. DAVIDSON^1,4, F. TREMBLAY^2,4, M. BOLIC³;

542.08/NN9 – Modulation of transcallosal inhibition in the motor cortex by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

²Sch. of Rehabil. Sci., ³Sch. of Electrical Engin. and Computer Sci., ¹Univ. of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; ⁴Bruyère Res. Inst., Ottawa, ON, Canada

N. HOSEINI, H. J. BLOCK;

542.18/NN19 – The effect of motor point associative stimulation and tDCS on manual dexterity and neurophysiology of the motor cortex

Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN

Nano-symposia:

L. M. MURRAY^1,2, K. NOSAKA²;

¹Physical Med. and Rehabil., Hamad Med. Corp., Doha, Qatar; ²Sch. of Exercise and Hlth. Sci., Edith Cowan Univ., Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia

17.04 – Similar changes in corticospinal excitability after anodal tDCS between 1 mA and 2 mA

M. STANTON¹, R. HAUSER²;

490.12 – The impact of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on resilience, stress, compassion fatigue and empathic response in professional nurses

²Educ., ¹Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL