Elisabeth Kaminski1, Christopher J Steele2, Maike Hoff3, Christopher Gundlach4, Viola Rjosk1, Bernhard Sehm1, Arno Villringer5, Patrick Ragert6. 1. Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neurology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany. 2. Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neurology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health Institute, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 3. Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neurology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute for General Kinesiology and Exercise Science, Faculty of Sport Science, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. 4. Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neurology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Experimental Psychology and Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. 5. Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neurology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Mind and Brain Institute, Charité and Humboldt University, D-10117 Berlin, Germany. 6. Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neurology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute for General Kinesiology and Exercise Science, Faculty of Sport Science, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. Electronic address: patrick.ragert@uni-leipzig.de.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of facilitatory anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) applied over the leg area of the primary motor cortex on learning a complex whole-body dynamic balancing task (DBT). We hypothesized that a-tDCS during DBT enhances learning performance compared to sham tDCS (s-tDCS). METHODS: In a randomized, parallel design, we applied either a-tDCS (n=13) or s-tDCS (n=13) in a total of 26 young subjects while they perform the DBT. Task performance and error rates were compared between groups. Additionally, we investigated the effect of tDCS on the relationship between performance and kinematic variables capturing different aspects of task execution. RESULTS: A-tDCS over M1 leg area promotes balance performance in a DBT relative to s-tDCS, indicated by higher performance and smaller error scores. Furthermore, a-tDCS seems to mediate the relationship between DBT performance and the kinematic variable velocity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide novel evidence for the ability of tDCS to improve dynamic balance learning, a fact, particularly important in the context of treating balance and gait disorders. SIGNIFICANCE: TDCS facilitates dynamic balance performance by strengthening the inverse relationship of performance and velocity, thus making tDCS one potential technique to improve walking ability or help to prevent falls in patients in the future.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of facilitatory anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) applied over the leg area of the primary motor cortex on learning a complex whole-body dynamic balancing task (DBT). We hypothesized that a-tDCS during DBT enhances learning performance compared to sham tDCS (s-tDCS). METHODS: In a randomized, parallel design, we applied either a-tDCS (n=13) or s-tDCS (n=13) in a total of 26 young subjects while they perform the DBT. Task performance and error rates were compared between groups. Additionally, we investigated the effect of tDCS on the relationship between performance and kinematic variables capturing different aspects of task execution. RESULTS: A-tDCS over M1 leg area promotes balance performance in a DBT relative to s-tDCS, indicated by higher performance and smaller error scores. Furthermore, a-tDCS seems to mediate the relationship between DBT performance and the kinematic variable velocity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide novel evidence for the ability of tDCS to improve dynamic balance learning, a fact, particularly important in the context of treating balance and gait disorders. SIGNIFICANCE: TDCS facilitates dynamic balance performance by strengthening the inverse relationship of performance and velocity, thus making tDCS one potential technique to improve walking ability or help to prevent falls in patients in the future.
Authors: Elisabeth Kaminski; Maike Hoff; Viola Rjosk; Christopher J Steele; Christopher Gundlach; Bernhard Sehm; Arno Villringer; Patrick Ragert Journal: Front Hum Neurosci Date: 2017-01-31 Impact factor: 3.169
Authors: Petra Henrich-Noack; Elena G Sergeeva; Torben Eber; Qing You; Nadine Voigt; Jürgen Köhler; Sebastian Wagner; Stefanie Lazik; Christian Mawrin; Guihua Xu; Sayantan Biswas; Bernhard A Sabel; Christopher Kai-Shun Leung Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2017-04-04 Impact factor: 4.379
Authors: Elodie Saruco; Franck Di Rienzo; Susana Nunez-Nagy; Miguel A Rubio-Gonzalez; Philip L Jackson; Christian Collet; Arnaud Saimpont; Aymeric Guillot Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2017-03-28 Impact factor: 4.379
Authors: Águida S Foerster; Zeynab Rezaee; Walter Paulus; Michael A Nitsche; Anirban Dutta Journal: Front Neurosci Date: 2018-07-04 Impact factor: 4.677