Review article

https://doi.org/10.5599/admet.3.3.199

Transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: Challenges and responses

Hong Yuan ; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University; Key Laborator y of Cognition and Personality ; Key research institute of humanities & social science , Chongqing, 400715, China .
Serik Tabarak ; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University; Key Laborator y of Cognition and Personality ; Key research institute of humanities & social science , Chongqing, 400715, China .
Jing Yu ; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University; Key Laborator y of Cognition and Personality ; Key research institute of humanities & social science , Chongqing, 400715, China .
Xu Lei ; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University; Key Laborator y of Cognition and Personality ; Key research institute of humanities & social science , Chongqing, 400715, China .

Abstract

The use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a noninvasive therapeutic approach for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has gained increasing attention. Research regarding the utility of tDCS in AD is inconsistent. In this study, we reviewed the importance of individual diversity among AD patients, starting from the uninformative mean results. We also demonstrated variation among AD patients. Highly educated patients seem to benefit more; education also seems to modulate baseline measurements and the results. Individual cortical morphology also affects the current distribution, which influences the effectiveness of stimulation. We suggest the use of structural MRI to distinguish inter-individual variability; high-resolution modeling can also be used to predict current distributions and should be combined with cognitive training (CT) along with tDCS.

Keywords

Individual diversity; cortical morphology; educational level; current distribution; cognitive training

Hrčak ID:

144311

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/144311

Publication date:

5.9.2015.

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