• Tommaso Bocci, Matteo Caleo, Beatrice Vannini, Maurizio Vergari, Filippo Cogiamanian, Simone Rossi, Alberto Priori, and Ferdinando Sartucci.
• Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Unit of Neurology, Pisa University Medical School, Via P. Savi, n. 40, I 56126, Pisa, Italy; Department of Neurological and Neurosensorial Sciences, Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Section, Brain Investigation and Neuromodulation Lab., Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy.
• J. Neurosci. Methods. 2015 Oct 30; 254: 18-26.

BackgroundTranscutaneous spinal Direct Current Stimulation (tsDCS) is a noninvasive technique based on the application of weak electrical currents over spinal cord.New MethodWe studied the effects of tsDCS on interhemispheric motor connectivity and visual processing by evaluating changes in ipsilateral Silent Period (iSP), Transcallosal Conduction Time (TCT) and hemifield Visual Evoked Potentials (hVEPs), before (T0) and at a different intervals following sham, anodal and cathodal tsDCS (T9-T11 level, 2.0 mA, 20'). Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) were recorded from abductor pollicis brevis (APB), abductor hallucis (AH) and deltoid muscles. hVEPs were recorded bilaterally by reversal of a horizontal square wave grating with the display positioned in the right hemifield.ResultsAnodal tsDCS increased TCT (p < 0.001) and the interhemispheric delay for both the main VEP components (N1: p = 0.0003; P1: p < 0.0001), dampening at the same time iSP duration (APB: p < 0.0001; AH: p = 0.0005; deltoid: p < 0.0001), while cathodal stimulation elicited opposite effects (p < 0.0001).DiscussiontsDCS modulates interhemispheric processing in a polarity-specific manner, with anodal stimulation leading to a functional disconnection between hemispheres. tsDCS would be a new promising therapeutic tool in managing a number of human diseases characterized by an impaired interhemispheric balance, or an early rehabilitation strategy in patients with acute brain lesions, when other non-invasive brain stimulation techniques (NIBS) are not indicated due to safety concerns.Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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