Conventional and HD-tDCS May (or May Not) Modulate Overt Attentional Orienting: An Integrated Spatio-Temporal Approach and Methodological Reflections

Diana, Lorenzo; Scotti, G.; Aiello, Edoardo Nicolò; Pilastro, Patrick; Eberhard-Moscicka, Aleksandra K.; Müri, René M.; Bolognini, Nadia

doi:10.3390/brainsci12010071

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 69 publications

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“…Because of strongly right-skewed distributions, RTs were analyzed by means of generalized mixed-models (GMM), fitting a gamma distribution ( 58 , 59 ). Fixed effects were tested for “tDCS” (i.e., the 4 tDCS sessions), “Timepoint” (i.e., t0-pre and t1-post), and their interaction; random intercepts were calculated for participants.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of occipital and parietal tDCS on chronic visual field defects after brain injury

Diana,

Casati,

Melzi

et al. 2024

Front. Neurol.

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IntroductionHomonymous visual field defects (HVFDs) following acquired brain lesions affect independent living by hampering several activities of everyday life. Available treatments are intensive and week- or month-long. Transcranial Direct current stimulation (tDCS), a plasticity-modulating non-invasive brain stimulation technique, could be combined with behavioral trainings to boost their efficacy or reduce treatment duration. Some promising attempts have been made pairing occipital tDCS with visual restitution training, however less is knows about which area/network should be best stimulated in association with compensatory approaches, aimed at improving exploratory abilities, such as multisensory trainings.MethodsIn a proof-of-principle, sham-controlled, single-blind study, 15 participants with chronic HVFDs underwent four one-shot sessions of active or sham anodal tDCS applied over the ipsilesional occipital cortex, the ipsilesional or contralesional posterior parietal cortex. tDCS was delivered during a compensatory multisensory (audiovisual) training. Before and immediately after each tDCS session, participants carried out a visual detection task, and two visual search tasks (EF and Triangles search tests). Accuracy (ACC) and response times (RTs) were analyzed with generalized mixed models. We investigated differences in baseline performance, clinical-demographic and lesion factors between tDCS responders and non-responders, based on post-tDCS behavioral improvements. Lastly, we conducted exploratory analyses to compare left and right brain-damaged participants.ResultsRTs improved after active ipsilesional occipital and parietal tDCS in the visual search tasks, while no changes in ACC were detected. Responders to ipsilesional occipital tDCS (Triangle task) had shorter disease duration and smaller lesions of the parietal cortex and the superior longitudinal fasciculus. On the other end, on the EF test, those participants with larger damage of the temporo-parietal cortex or the fronto-occipital white matter tracts showed a larger benefit from contralesional parietal tDCS. Overall, the visual search RTs improvements were larger in participants with right-sided hemispheric lesions.ConclusionThe present result shows the facilitatory effects of occipital and parietal tDCS combined with compensatory multisensory training on visual field exploration in HVFDs, suggesting a potential for the development of new neuromodulation treatments to improve visual scanning behavior in brain-injured patients.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of occipital and parietal tDCS on chronic visual field defects after brain injury

Diana,

Casati,

Melzi

et al. 2024

Front. Neurol.

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Visual symptoms in postural tachycardia syndrome: An investigation of position‐dependent visual exploration

Rodriguez,

Pantano,

Nef

et al. 2024

Euro J of Neurology

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Background and PurposePatients with postural tachycardia syndrome report position‐dependent visual symptoms. Despite their impact on daily life, these symptoms have remained largely unexplored in research. The aim of this study was to investigate the nature of visual symptoms in postural tachycardia syndrome and possible underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.MethodsFifteen patients with postural tachycardia syndrome and 15 healthy controls were included in the study. Through a comprehensive array of measurements, including haemodynamics, subjective symptom assessments, eye movement tracking and pupil diameter analysis, participants were assessed during free image exploration in both supine and 60° head‐up tilt positions.ResultsDuring head‐up tilt, patients showed a decreased number and duration of fixations, as well as a decreased number, peak velocity and amplitude of saccades compared to the supine position and the control group. This reduction in visual exploration occurred primarily in the peripheral field of view and coincided with the occurrence of subjective visual symptoms. No significant differences in the saccade main sequence were observed between the two groups in either body position.ConclusionsPatients with postural tachycardia syndrome have a reduced exploration of the peripheral field of view when in an upright body position, potentially leading to tunnel vision. Since the normality of the saccade main sequence in patients combined with the focus on the centre of the field of view and the lower saccade amplitudes points to an intact brainstem function, the decrease in peripheral visual exploration may be attributed to a position‐dependent dysfunction of the frontal eye field.

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Cerebellar tDCS combined with augmented reality treadmill for freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease: a randomized controlled trial

Pisano,

Mellace,

Fugatti

et al. 2024

J NeuroEngineering Rehabil

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Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) is often accompanied by gait disorders and freezing of gait (FoG), disabling symptoms that are resistant to conventional dopamine treatments. Given the cerebellum’s connectivity with the motor cortex and basal ganglia, and its implication in PD, combining transcranial direct current stimulation targeting the cerebellum (ctDCS) with physical exercise might improve gait and balance. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel rehabilitation approach that combines noninvasive cerebellar stimulation with motor-cognitive training via an augmented reality treadmill (C-Mill VR+) in individuals with PD and FoG. Methods Seventeen individuals with PD exhibiting FoG were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. The participants were randomly assigned to a group receiving motor-cognitive training on the C-Mill VR+ with either ctDCS or sham ctDCS. Assessments were conducted pre-intervention (T0), post-intervention (T1) after 10 sessions, and at 4-week follow-up (T2), using various clinical scales. Additionally, C-Mill assessments of postural stability and gait were conducted at T0 and T1. Results Although no significant time*group interactions were observed for any of the clinical variables measured, some were found in the C-Mill measures. Specifically, right lower limb sway in static conditions, both with eyes open (OAD) and eyes closed (OCD), significantly improved at T1 in the ctDCS group compared with the sham group. Conclusions C-Mill outcomes indicate that the combined treatment may enhance motor control. Participants who received ctDCS along with augmented reality motor-cognitive training showed better postural stability.

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Conventional and HD-tDCS May (or May Not) Modulate Overt Attentional Orienting: An Integrated Spatio-Temporal Approach and Methodological Reflections

Cited by 3 publications

References 69 publications

The effects of occipital and parietal tDCS on chronic visual field defects after brain injury

The effects of occipital and parietal tDCS on chronic visual field defects after brain injury

Visual symptoms in postural tachycardia syndrome: An investigation of position‐dependent visual exploration

Cerebellar tDCS combined with augmented reality treadmill for freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease: a randomized controlled trial

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