Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2025
Randomized, Triple-Blind, and Parallel-Controlled Trial of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Cognitive Rehabilitation after Stroke
Published on: June 6, 2025
Impact of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with motor-cognitive intervention on post-stroke cognitive
Liya Zhang1, Liang Zhou2, Qing Ye2
1Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine Research Institute of Zhejiang Province, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital), Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. zhangliyazly9@126.com.
Objective:
In this study, it was explored whether the efficacy on applying transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with motor-cognitive intervention for post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) was greater than that on applying each method alone.
Methods:
A total of 90 patients with PSCI admitted to Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, China, from April 2021 to June 2022 were randomly divided into a tDCS group (n = 30), a motor-cognitive intervention group (n = 30), and a combination group (n = 30). All three groups received conventional rehabilitation therapy. The tDCS group was given tDCS therapy. The motor-cognitive intervention group received motor-cognitive intervention, whereas the combination group received tDCS combined with motor-cognitive intervention. The treatment duration was 4 weeks. The general data of patients were recorded before treatment. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Scale and the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) Scale were used to evaluate the cognitive function of patients in three groups before and after treatment. Further, within- and between-groups comparisons were performed to determine differences in cognitive function.
Results:
Before treatment, there was no significant difference between the baseline scores of the three groups (P > 0.05). After 4 weeks of treatment, except for the score for the LOTCA motor praxis subtest of the tDCS group, the MoCA and LOTCA scores of the three groups significantly improved compared with the corresponding scores before treatment (P < 0.05), and there was no drop-out case. After treatment, the MoCA and LOTCA scores of the three groups were compared in pairs. The results showed that except for the attention domain in MoCA, the method used for the combination group had more efficacy than those used for the other two groups (P < 0.05). Further, there was no statistical difference in efficacy between the tDCS and the motor-cognitive intervention groups (P > 0.05).
Conclusion:
The combination of tDCS and motor-cognitive intervention is safe and can help improve the cognitive function of patients with PSCI.
