Feasibility of remotely supervised transcranial direct current stimulation and cognitive remediation: A systematic review

Abstract

With technological advancements and an aging population, there is growing interest in delivering interventions at home. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Cognitive Remediation (CR) as well as Cognitive Training (CT) have been widely studied, but mainly in laboratories or hospitals. Thus, the objectives of this review are to examine feasibility and the interventions components to support the domiciliary administration of tDCS and CR. We performed a systematic search of electronic databases, websites and reference lists of included articles from the first date available until October 31, 2018. Articles included had to meet the following criteria: original work published in English using human subjects, majority of tDCS or CR intervention administered remotely. A total of 39 studies were identified (16 tDCS, 23 CR/CT, 5 using both tDCS & CT). Four studies were single case studies and two were multiple case studies. The remaining 33 studies had a range of 9-135 participants. Five tDCS and nine CR/CT studies were double blind randomized controlled trials. Most studies focused on schizophrenia (8/39) and multiple sclerosis (8/39). Literature examined suggests the feasibility of delivering tDCS or CR/CT remotely with the support of information and communication technologies.

Anticipating and Mitigating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

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Can Enhancing Neuronal Activity Improve Myelin Repair in Multiple Sclerosis?

“…Nevertheless, it would be interesting to assess whether long treatment periods or different deep brain stimulation protocols influence local remyelination in patients. Clinical studies have also already explored non-invasive brain stimulation as an attractive therapeutic approach that is easily applicable in the clinic and, in some cases, can be applied at home ( Gough et al, 2020 ). Although the mechanisms behind the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation are yet to be explained and probably result from mixed effects on neurons and glia, non-invasive brain stimulation in MS patients has been shown to reduce motor symptoms including spasticity, fatigue, neuropathic pain, tactile sensory problems, as well as urinary tract difficulties ( Leocani et al, 2019 ).…”

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