Abstract
Introduction: The transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has been explored for its benefits in a variety of conditions, and has been reported to have significant impact on the autonomic functions such as heart rate, heart rate variability, sympathetic and parasympathetic outflow via the neural modulation. Aim: To study the potential effects tDCS on the autonomic functions. Materials and Methods: A narrative review was conducted on healthy young adults with age ranging from 18 to 35 years. For the studies to be segregated, a plethora of studies were looked up the databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane, Ovid and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). As a result of search, 1007 studies were found out of which 22 experimental studies were found to justify the aim chosen for current study and hence were scrutinised for yielding the result. Results: The scrutiny of the included literature resulted in yielding the nuances that stimulation by tDCS has improved the parameters determined by autonomic nervous system. A total of nine out of 22 studies talked about the cathode placed extra-cephalous, having no statistically appreciable results however, rest 13 studies had the anode and cathode both placed cephalic and had significant impact on heart rate variability, baro-reception and sympathetic and parasympathetic outflow. Though on comparison of the type of tDCS stimulation, stimulation via anode had much pronounced beneficial changes than cathode or sham stimulation. Conclusion: The tDCS is a novel technique that impact-fully deals with impairment in autonomic functions incorporation with the conventional treatment techniques, tDCS can be adjunctively used to deal with autonomic impairments and help achieve better quality at life.
Published Version
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