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Updated: Jun 25, 2025
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Simultaneous Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: April 27, 2014
Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on brain activity and cortical functional connectivity in children
Jiannan Kang1, Yuqi Li1, Shuaikang Lv1
1College of Electronic & Information Engineering, Hebei University, Baoding, China.
Introduction:
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a therapeutic option to mitigate symptoms in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our study investigated the effects of a two-week regimen of tDCS targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in children with ASD, examining changes in rhythmic brain activity and alterations in functional connectivity within key neural networks: the default mode network (DMN), sensorimotor network (SMN), and dorsal attention network (DAN).
Methods:
We enrolled twenty-six children with ASD and assigned them randomly to either an active stimulation group (n=13) or a sham stimulation group (n=13). The active group received tDCS at an intensity of 1mA to the left DLPFC for a combined duration of 10 days. Differences in electrical brain activity were pinpointed using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA), while functional connectivity was assessed via lagged phase synchronization.
Results:
Compared to the typically developing children, children with ASD exhibited lower current source density across all frequency bands. Post-treatment, the active stimulation group demonstrated a significant increase in both current source density and resting state network connectivity. Such changes were not observed in the sham stimulation group.
Conclusion:
tDCS targeting the DLPFC may bolster brain functional connectivity in patients with ASD, offering a substantive groundwork for potential clinical applications.
