Marquez Jodie, Conley Alexander, Karayanidis Frini, Lagopoulos Jim, Parsons Mark
Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.
Hunter Medical Institute, New Lambton, NSW, Australia.
Restor Neurol Neurosci. 2015;33(4):509-19. doi: 10.3233/RNN-140490.
Research popularity and scope for the application of transcranial direct current stimulation have been steadily increasing yet many fundamental questions remain unanswered. We sought to determine if anodal stimulation of either hemisphere leads to improved performance of the contralateral hand and/or altered function of the ipsilateral hand, or affects movement preparation, in older subjects.
In this cross-over, double blind, sham controlled study, 34 healthy aged participants (age range 40- 86) were randomised to receive 20 minutes of stimulation to either the dominant or non-dominant motor cortex. The primary outcome was functional performance of both upper limbs measured by the Jebsen Taylor Test and hand grip strength. Additionally, we measured motor preparation using electrophysiological (EEG) recordings.
Anodal stimulation resulted in statistically significantly improved performance of the non-dominant hand (p < 0.01) but did not produce significant changes in the dominant hand on any measure (p > 0.05). This effect occurred irrespective of the hemisphere stimulated. Stimulation did not produce significant effects on measures of gross function, grip strength, reaction times, or electrophysiological measures on the EEG data.
This study demonstrated that the hemispheres respond differently to anodal stimulation and the response appears to be task specific but not mediated by age.
经颅直流电刺激的研究热度和应用范围一直在稳步上升，但许多基本问题仍未得到解答。我们试图确定对任一脑半球进行阳极刺激是否会改善对侧手的表现和/或改变同侧手的功能，或者影响老年受试者的运动准备。
在这项交叉、双盲、假刺激对照研究中，34名健康老年参与者（年龄范围40 - 86岁）被随机分配接受对优势或非优势运动皮层进行20分钟的刺激。主要结局是通过杰布森·泰勒测试和握力测量的双上肢功能表现。此外，我们使用电生理（脑电图）记录来测量运动准备。
阳极刺激导致非优势手的表现有统计学意义的显著改善（p < 0.01），但在任何测量指标上优势手均未产生显著变化（p > 0.05）。无论刺激的是哪个脑半球，这种效应都会出现。刺激对脑电图数据的总体功能、握力、反应时间或电生理测量指标均未产生显著影响。
本研究表明，脑半球对阳极刺激的反应不同，且这种反应似乎是任务特异性的，而非由年龄介导。
