title: Considering the influence of stimulation parameters on the effect of conventional and high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation.
abstract: Recently, techniques to non-invasively modulate specific brain areas gained popularity in the form of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation. These non-invasive techniques have already shown promising outcomes in various studies with healthy subjects as well as patient populations. Despite widespread dissemination of tDCS, there remain significant unknowns about the influence of a diverse number of tDCS parameters (e.g. polarity, size, position of electrodes & duration of stimulation) in inducing neurophysiological and behavioral effects. This article explores both techniques starting with the history of tDCS, to the differences between conventional tDCS and high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation, the underlying physiological mechanism, the (in)direct effects, the applications of tDCS with varying parameters, the efficacy, the safety issues and the opportunities for future research.
authors.affiliation: a Center for Brain Health , The University of Texas at Dallas , Dallas , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Wing Ting
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: To
authors.affiliation: a Center for Brain Health , The University of Texas at Dallas , Dallas , TX , USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.affiliation: b Department of Surgical Sciences, Section of Neurosurgery, Dunedin School of Medicine , University of Otago , Dunedin , New Zealand.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Ridder
authors.affiliation: c Lab for Clinical & Integrative Neuroscience, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences , The University of Texas at Dallas , Dallas , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vanneste
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D059227:Postsynaptic Potential Summation; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / Q000266:history / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
keywords: HD-tDCS; Non-invasive; neuromodulation; stimulation parameters; transcranial direct current stimulation