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Application of tDCS in children with cerebral palsy: A mini review
Lin Tang1, Yuwei Wu1, Jiayin Ma1
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Insights
Transcatranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) offers a flexible, convenient new approach for children with cerebral palsy (CP). This noninvasive brain stimulation technique integrates with existing therapies, reducing treatment time and improving outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders affecting movement and posture due to nonprogressive brain injury in developing infants.
- Standard CP rehabilitation includes physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
- Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is emerging as a tool to modulate cortical excitability and plasticity for therapeutic benefit.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the application of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
- To discuss the potential and prospects of tDCS as an intervention for pediatric CP.
- To highlight tDCS as a convenient and flexible NIBS technique for CP rehabilitation.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques, specifically focusing on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).
- Analysis of tDCS's characteristics, including ease of use, flexibility, and compatibility with concurrent therapies.
- Exploration of tDCS's potential benefits for children with cerebral palsy (CP).
Main Results:
- Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) method that is simpler and more convenient than other techniques.
- tDCS allows for greater flexibility in patient activity during treatment, unlike other NIBS methods requiring prolonged stillness.
- tDCS can be integrated with occupational and speech therapy, potentially reducing overall treatment duration and enhancing patient compliance.
Conclusions:
- Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) presents a promising, convenient, and flexible intervention for children with cerebral palsy (CP).
- Its ability to integrate with other therapies and accommodate active children warrants further investigation and clinical exploration.
- tDCS holds potential to improve rehabilitation outcomes and reduce treatment burden for pediatric CP patients.
Abstract:
Cerebral palsy (CP) refers to a group of diseases characterized by persistent central dyskinesia, postural development disorder and activity limitation syndromes caused by nonprogressive brain injury in the developing fetus or infant, which is often accompanied by sensory, cognitive and attention disorders. The routine rehabilitation methods for children with CP mainly include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and other methods. In recent years, noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS), as a relatively new intervention method, has been widely used because of its potential to regulate cortical excitability and plasticity. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an NIBS technique that is easier and more convenient to perform. It does not require patients to remain stationary for a long time or have a significant impact on treatment results due to children's frequent activities. Compared with other NIBS techniques, tDCS has greater flexibility and no strict restrictions on patients' activities; it also helps the therapist conduct occupational therapy or speech therapy while a child receives tDCS, which markedly reduces the treatment time and avoids burnout due to a long treatment duration. Thus, tDCS is a better and more convenient intervention for CP children and warrants further exploration. Accordingly, this article reviews tDCS application in children with CP and discusses tDCS application prospects for such children to promote its expansion in clinical practice.
