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Improvement of Motor Function with Noninvasive Cortical Stimulation in a Patient with Chronic Stroke

Human Cortical Physiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, Cortical Physiology Research Group, Department of Neurology, and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Eberhard-Karls University Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

Leonardo G. Cohen

Human Cortical Physiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, cohenl{at}ninds.nih.gov

This manuscript reports the effects of transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS), a technique that enhances cortical plasticity in healthy humans, on motor function in a patient with chronic subcortical ischemic stroke. tDCS but not sham applied in a double-blind protocol to motor regions of the affected hemisphere led to improvements in pinch force, Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test, and simple reaction times in the paretic hand that outlasted the stimulation period for at least 40 min. These changes were accompanied by increased corticomotor excitability identified by enhanced recruitment curves and reduced intracortical inhibition to transcranial magnetic stimulation. These results document a beneficial effect of noninvasive brain stimulation on motor function in a human patient with stroke and raise the hypothesis of its potential application in neurorehabilitation.

Key Words: Stroke • Rehabilitation • Stimulation • TMS • DCS • Motor

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Vol. 19, No. 1, 14-19 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1545968304272698


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