title: Impact of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Neuronal Functions.
abstract: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, modulates neuronal excitability by the application of a small electrical current. The low cost and ease of the technique has driven interest in potential clinical applications. However, outcomes are highly sensitive to stimulation parameters, leading to difficulty maximizing the technique's effectiveness. Although reversing the polarity of stimulation often causes opposite effects, this is not always the case. Effective clinical application will require an understanding of how tDCS works; how it modulates a neuron; how it affects the local network; and how it alters inter-network signaling. We have summarized what is known regarding the mechanisms of tDCS from sub-cellular processing to circuit level communication with a particular focus on what can be learned from the polarity specificity of the effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the NegevBe'er Sheva, Israel; Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MCRotterdam, Netherlands; Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Suman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the NegevBe'er Sheva, Israel; Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MCRotterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MCRotterdam, Netherlands; Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University College, Erasmus UniversityRotterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maarten A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Frens
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the NegevBe'er Sheva, Israel; Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MCRotterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Opher
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Donchin
keywords: neuromodulators; neurotransmitters; oscillation; plasticity; tDCS