Brain Stimul
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Neurophysiologic effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) via electrical stimulation of the tragus: A concurrent taVNS/fMRI study and review.
Electrical stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (ABVN) via transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) may influence afferent vagal networks. There have been 5 prior taVNS/fMRI studies, with inconsistent findings due to variability in stimulation targets and parameters. ⋯ Stimulation of the tragus activates the cerebral afferents of the vagal pathway and combined with our review of the literature suggest that taVNS is a promising form of VNS. Future taVNS/fMRI studies should systematically explore various parameters and alternative stimulation targets aimed to optimize this novel form of neuromodulation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) paired with a decision-making task reduces risk-taking in a clinically impulsive sample.
Impulsivity is a multidimensional personality trait observed across a variety of psychiatric disorders. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied over dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has shown promise as an intervention to reduce impulsivity. ⋯ tDCS over DLPFC paired with a decision-making task effectively reduced risk-taking behavior in a group of Veterans with clinically-relevant impulsivity. Results suggest that this approach may be an effective neuroplasticity-based intervention for patients affected by impulsivity.
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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subcallosal cingulate (SCC) is an emerging experimental therapy for treatment-resistant depression. New developments in SCC DBS surgical targeting are focused on identifying specific axonal pathways for stimulation that are estimated from preoperatively collected diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data. However, brain shift induced by opening burr holes in the skull may alter the position of the target pathways. ⋯ Brain shift is an important concern for SCC DBS surgical targeting and can impact connectomic analyses.
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The cerebellum is involved in the pathophysiology of many movement disorders and its importance in the field of neuromodulation is growing. ⋯ Cerebellar modulation can improve specific symptoms in some movement disorders and is a safe and well-tolerated procedure. Further studies are needed to lay the groundwork for new researches in this promising target.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Bilateral extracephalic transcranial direct current stimulation improves endurance performance in healthy individuals.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been used to enhance endurance performance but its precise mechanisms and effects remain unknown. ⋯ Our findings demonstrate that tDCS with the anode over both motor cortices using a bilateral extracephalic reference improves endurance performance.