Brain Stimul
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Comparative Study
Differences in the experience of active and sham transcranial direct current stimulation.
A limited number of studies have shown that modulation of cortical excitability using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is safe and tolerable. Few have directly evaluated whether sham and active stimulation are indistinguishable. ⋯ TDCS is a safe well-tolerated technique with no evidence of risk for serious adverse effects. Sensory side effects are common, but the severity is typically low. Because sensory side effects are more frequent and more severe in active compared with sham tDCS, the current method of sham stimulation may not be an adequate control condition for some studies.