Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation of the cerebellum (c-tDCS) improves motor performance in young and old adults. Based on the cerebellar involvement in Parkinson’s disease (PD), c-tDCS could have potential to improve motor function in PD. The purpose was to determine the effects of c-tDCS on motor performance in PD while participants were on medications. The study was a randomized, double-blind, SHAM-controlled, between-subjects design. Twenty-two participants with PD were allocated to either a c-tDCS group or a SHAM group. All participants completed one experimental session and performed two motor tasks with their most affected hand in a Baseline condition (no stimulation) and an Experimental condition. The motor tasks were a visuomotor isometric precision grip task (PGT) and a rapid arm movement task (AMT). The primary dependent variables were force error and endpoint error in the PGT and AMT, respectively. There were no significant differences in force error or endpoint error in the Experimental condition between the c-tDCS and SHAM groups. These results indicate that an acute application of c-tDCS does not enhance motor performance in hand and arm tasks in PD. Longer-term c-tDCS application over multiple days may be needed to enhance motor function in PD.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by debilitating motor symptoms including tremor, rigidity, postural instability, and bradykinesia.The current pharmaceutical, surgical, and other management strategies for PD are directed towards relieving the symptoms associated with the disease
The purpose was to determine the effects of c-Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on motor performance in PD while participants
These results indicate that a single session of cerebellartranscranial transcranialdirect directcurrent current stimulation (c-tDCS) does not
Summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by debilitating motor symptoms including tremor, rigidity, postural instability, and bradykinesia. The current pharmaceutical, surgical, and other management strategies for PD are directed towards relieving the symptoms associated with the disease. Often combined with other medications represents the standard treatment for PD, but their efficacy diminishes over time [1] and leads to side effects such as dyskinesia. For advanced PD, advanced treatments such as deep brain stimulation are often considered and can substantially improve motor performance and quality of life [2]. Deep brain stimulation is associated with surgical contraindications, high costs, neuropsychiatric side effects, and is not effective in treating non-motor PD symptoms [3].
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