Influence of electrode placement on the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation

Influence of electrode placement on the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation

Dona Kyprianou

Doctoral thesis

Date of Examination: 2017-11-23

Date of issue: 2017-11-01

Advisor: Antal, Andrea Prof. Dr.

Referee: Antal, Andrea Prof. Dr.

Referee: Staiger, Jochen Prof. Dr.

Persistent Address: http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-0023-3F52-F

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Abstract

English

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a method used to induce excitability changes in the motor cortex. Stimulation protocols can act either enhancing, using anodal stimulation or inhibiting, using cathodal stimulation. TDCS is typically applied by placing one electrode directly above the motor cortex and the other electrode on the contralateral forehead. The goal of this study is to investigate which electrode placement on the scalp is most effective for inducing cortical excitability: the classical montage – directly over the motor cortex- or our new shifted montage proposal -3cm posterior to that. The effects of electrode placements are studied by measuring motor evoked potentials (MEP) with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for every 10 minutes up to 1 hour after applying anodal and cathodal tDCS for both the classical and shifted electrode montage.

Keywords: tDCS