Effect of Anodal Direct-Current Stimulation on Cortical Hemodynamic Responses With Laser-Speckle Contrast Imaging.

Shuo Hu,Lanxiang Liu,Juan Du,Tao Zheng,Yanchao Dong

doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00503

Abstract

Transcranial direct-current stimulation (DCS) offers a method for noninvasive neuromodulation usable in basic and clinical human neuroscience. Laser-speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), a powerful, low-cost method for obtaining images of dynamic systems, can detect regional blood-flow distributions with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Here, we used LSCI for measuring DCS-induced cerebral blood flow in real-time. Results showed that the change-rate of cerebral blood flow could reach approximately 10.1 ± 5.1% by DCS, indicating that DCS can increase cerebral blood flow and alter cortical hemodynamic responses. Thus, DCS shows potential for the clinical treatment and rehabilitation of ischemic strokes.

Highlights

Transcranial direct-current stimulation (DCS), which utilizes weak currents to regulate the activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex, is a noninvasive method for performing transcranial stimulation
We can clearly see that the blood-flow velocity significantly accelerated at 30 s, and gradually decreased during the period from 30 to 90 s
The results showed that DCS enhanced cerebral blood flow

Summary

Introduction

Transcranial direct-current stimulation (DCS), which utilizes weak currents to regulate the activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex, is a noninvasive method for performing transcranial stimulation. In DCS, electrodes are placed on the scalp, and a weak direct current is applied to the cerebral cortex, changing its excitability (Ferrucci and Priori, 2014). Stimulation effects are determined by measuring the duration and current intensity of the stimuli. The techniques could not indicate the structure of the blood vessels or determine the changes of blood-flow velocity in the blood vessels. This problem can be solved by using laser-speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) with DCS to study hemodynamics

Methods

Results

Conclusion