Electrode Positioning and Montage in Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation |
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Authors: | Alexandre F. DaSilva Magdalena Sarah Volz Marom Bikson Felipe Fregni |
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Affiliation: | 1.Headache & Orofacial Pain Effort (H.O.P.E.), Biologic & Material Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan;2.Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School;3.Charité, University Medicine Berlin;4.Department of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York |
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Abstract: | Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a technique that has been intensively investigated in the past decade as this method offers a non-invasive and safe alternative to change cortical excitability2. The effects of one session of tDCS can last for several minutes, and its effects depend on polarity of stimulation, such as that cathodal stimulation induces a decrease in cortical excitability, and anodal stimulation induces an increase in cortical excitability that may last beyond the duration of stimulation6. These effects have been explored in cognitive neuroscience and also clinically in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders – especially when applied over several consecutive sessions4. One area that has been attracting attention of neuroscientists and clinicians is the use of tDCS for modulation of pain-related neural networks3,5. Modulation of two main cortical areas in pain research has been explored: primary motor cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex7. Due to the critical role of electrode montage, in this article, we show different alternatives for electrode placement for tDCS clinical trials on pain; discussing advantages and disadvantages of each method of stimulation. |
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Keywords: | Neuroscience Issue 51 Transcranial direct current stimulation pain chronic pain noninvasive brain stimulation neuromodulation |
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