Adding transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation to visual scanning training does not enhance treatment effect on...

Left-sided transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) increases right hemispheric activity, which may improve the rehabilitative outcome of hemispatial neglect.

To examine the behavioral effect of electrical stimulation of the nerve afferents of the left hand during early neuropsychological rehabilitation of post-stroke patients with hemispatial neglect.

This randomized, controlled, double-blind study included 29 patients (enrolled in the experimental or control group) with left hemispatial neglect after right hemispheric stroke. For 3 weeks, patients received 15 therapeutic sessions involving TENS (active or sham) with a mesh glove applied on the entire left hand during the first 30 minutes of a 45-minute conventional visual scanning training (VST). Signs of hemispatial neglect were assessed using a psychometric test before and after treatment.

Univariate analysis of covariance revealed that differences between the control and experimental groups were not significant after treatment (F(1, 22) = 0.294, P = 0.593) when adjusted for pre-treatment scores and time since stroke onset. This suggested that electrical stimulation failed to mitigate the severity of hemispatial neglect symptoms.

Our study did not provide evidence of the effectiveness of TENS when added to VST during early rehabilitation for patients with post-stroke hemispatial neglect. Other techniques (applied alone or together) should be sought to improve recovery in this population.