title: After-effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on the excitability of the motor cortex in rats.
abstract: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is increasingly seen as a useful tool for noninvasive cortical neuromodulation. A number of studies in humans have shown that when tDCS is applied to the motor cortex it can modulate cortical excitability. It is especially interesting to note that when applied with sufficient duration and intensity, tDCS can enable long-lasting neuroplastic effects. However, the mechanism by which tDCS exerts its effects on the cortex is not fully understood. We investigated the effects of anodal tDCS under urethane anesthesia on field potentials in in vivo rats.
  
  
  
  These were measured on the skull over the right motor cortex of rats immediately after stimulating the left corpus callosum.
  
  
  
  Evoked field potentials in the motor cortex were gradually increased for more than one hour after anodal tDCS. To induce these long-lasting effects, a sufficient duration of stimulation (20 minutes or more) was found to may be required rather than high stimulation intensity.
  
  
  
  We propose that anodal tDCS with a sufficient duration of stimulation may modulate transcallosal plasticity.
authors: Department of Physiology, Wonkwang University College of Medicine, Iksan, South Korea.
authors: Ho
authors: H
authors: Koo
authors: Department of Physiology, Wonkwang University College of Medicine, Iksan, South Korea.
authors: Min Sun
authors: MS
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Physiology, Wonkwang University College of Medicine, Iksan, South Korea.
authors: Sang Who
authors: SW
authors: Han
authors: University Medical Center, Department Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August-University, Goettingen, Germany.
authors: Walter
authors: W
authors: Paulus
authors: University Medical Center, Department Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August-University, Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany; Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.
authors: Michael A
authors: MA
authors: Nitche
authors: Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Center for Prevention and Rehabilitation, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors: Yun-Hee
authors: YH
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Medical System Engineering & Department of Mechatronics, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, South Korea.
authors: Hyoung-Ihl
authors: HI
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, South Korea.
authors: Sung-Hwa
authors: SH
authors: Ko
authors: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, South Korea.
authors: Yong-Il
authors: YI
authors: Shin
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000502:physiology*; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Transcranial direct stimulation; cerebral cortex; cortical excitability; neurophysiology; rat