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Updated: Jun 29, 2025
The Combined Use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Robotic Therapy for the Upper Limb
Published on: September 23, 2018
Clinical Comparison between HD-tDCS and tDCS for Improving Upper Limb Motor Function: A Randomized, Double-Blinded,
Yaqin Zeng1, Ruidong Cheng1, Li Zhang1
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 Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) and anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) both improve upper limb function in stroke survivors. HD-tDCS showed sustained benefits in daily activities compared to a-tDCS.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Clinical Trials
Background:
- Stroke frequently causes upper limb dysfunction, impacting 55%-75% of patients.
- Early motor function recovery is critical for post-stroke patient outcomes.
- Subacute stroke patients often experience persistent motor deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) versus conventional anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) for upper limb motor function recovery.
- To investigate the effectiveness of HD-tDCS targeting the primary motor cortex (M1) in subacute stroke patients.
- To assess the impact of tDCS on functional outcomes in patients with subcortical stroke.
Main Methods:
- A randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial involving 69 subacute stroke patients.
- Patients were allocated to HD-tDCS, a-tDCS, or sham stimulation groups, receiving 20 sessions.
- Outcome measures included the Action Research Arm Test, Fugl-Meyer score, Motor Function Assessment Scale, and modified Barthel index (MBI).
Main Results:
- All groups showed improvement in motor function scores after 4 weeks of treatment.
- The HD-tDCS group demonstrated a trend towards greater improvement in trained upper limb function compared to the a-tDCS group, though not statistically significant.
- The HD-tDCS group maintained higher MBI scores at 8-week follow-up compared to the a-tDCS group.
Conclusions:
- Both HD-tDCS and a-tDCS are effective in improving upper limb motor function and daily activities in subacute stroke patients.
- HD-tDCS may offer sustained benefits for daily living activities post-stroke.
- Further research could explore optimal parameters for HD-tDCS in stroke rehabilitation.
