Resting-State Activity Changes Induced by tDCS in MS Patients and Healthy Controls: A Simultaneous tDCS rs-fMRI Study
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe, well-tolerated method of non-invasively eliciting cortical neuromodulation. It has gained recent interest, especially for its positive clinical outcomes in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). However, its simultaneous...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Bioengineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/6/672 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849418160461053952 |
|---|---|
| author | Marco Muccio Giuseppina Pilloni Lillian Walton Masters Peidong He Lauren Krupp Abhishek Datta Marom Bikson Leigh Charvet Yulin Ge |
| author_facet | Marco Muccio Giuseppina Pilloni Lillian Walton Masters Peidong He Lauren Krupp Abhishek Datta Marom Bikson Leigh Charvet Yulin Ge |
| author_sort | Marco Muccio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe, well-tolerated method of non-invasively eliciting cortical neuromodulation. It has gained recent interest, especially for its positive clinical outcomes in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). However, its simultaneous (during tDCS) and cumulative effects (following repeated tDCS sessions) on the regional brain activity during rest need further investigation, especially in MS. This study aims to elucidate tDCS’ underpinnings, alongside its therapeutic impact in MS patients, using concurrent tDCS-MRI methods. In total, 20 MS patients (age = 48 ± 12 years; 8 males) and 28 healthy controls (HCs; age = 36 ± 15 years; 12 males) were recruited. They participated in a tDCS-MRI session, during which resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) was used to measure the levels of the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFFs), which is an index of regional neuronal activity, before and during left anodal dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) tDCS (2.0 mA for 15 min). MS patients were then asked to return for an identical tDCS-MRI visit (follow-up) after 20 identical at-home tDCS sessions. Simultaneous tDCS-induced changes in fALFF are seen across cortical and subcortical areas in both HC and MS patients, with some regions showing increased and others decreased brain activity. In HCs, fALFF increased in the right pre- and post-central gyrus whilst it decreased in subcortical regions. Conversely, MS patients initially displayed increases in more posterior cortical regions but decreases in the superior and temporal cortical regions. At follow-up, MS patients showed reversed patterns, emphasizing significant cumulative effects of tDCS treatment upon brain excitation. Such long-lasting changes are further supported by greater pre-tDCS fALFFs measured at follow-up compared to baseline, especially around the cuneus. The results were significant after correcting for multiple comparisons (p-FDR < 0.05). Our study shows that tDCS has both simultaneous and cumulative effects on neuronal activity measured with rs-fMRI, especially involving major brain areas distant from the site of stimulation, and it is responsible for fatigue and cognitive and motor skills. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fd144f21c5bc408d8eb75432a929db72 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2306-5354 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bioengineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-fd144f21c5bc408d8eb75432a929db722025-08-20T03:32:31ZengMDPI AGBioengineering2306-53542025-06-0112667210.3390/bioengineering12060672Resting-State Activity Changes Induced by tDCS in MS Patients and Healthy Controls: A Simultaneous tDCS rs-fMRI StudyMarco Muccio0Giuseppina Pilloni1Lillian Walton Masters2Peidong He3Lauren Krupp4Abhishek Datta5Marom Bikson6Leigh Charvet7Yulin Ge8Department of Radiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USADepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USADepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USADepartment of Radiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USADepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USAResearch and Development, Soterix Medical, Inc., Woodbridge, NJ 07095, USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USADepartment of Neurology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USADepartment of Radiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USATranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe, well-tolerated method of non-invasively eliciting cortical neuromodulation. It has gained recent interest, especially for its positive clinical outcomes in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). However, its simultaneous (during tDCS) and cumulative effects (following repeated tDCS sessions) on the regional brain activity during rest need further investigation, especially in MS. This study aims to elucidate tDCS’ underpinnings, alongside its therapeutic impact in MS patients, using concurrent tDCS-MRI methods. In total, 20 MS patients (age = 48 ± 12 years; 8 males) and 28 healthy controls (HCs; age = 36 ± 15 years; 12 males) were recruited. They participated in a tDCS-MRI session, during which resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) was used to measure the levels of the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFFs), which is an index of regional neuronal activity, before and during left anodal dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) tDCS (2.0 mA for 15 min). MS patients were then asked to return for an identical tDCS-MRI visit (follow-up) after 20 identical at-home tDCS sessions. Simultaneous tDCS-induced changes in fALFF are seen across cortical and subcortical areas in both HC and MS patients, with some regions showing increased and others decreased brain activity. In HCs, fALFF increased in the right pre- and post-central gyrus whilst it decreased in subcortical regions. Conversely, MS patients initially displayed increases in more posterior cortical regions but decreases in the superior and temporal cortical regions. At follow-up, MS patients showed reversed patterns, emphasizing significant cumulative effects of tDCS treatment upon brain excitation. Such long-lasting changes are further supported by greater pre-tDCS fALFFs measured at follow-up compared to baseline, especially around the cuneus. The results were significant after correcting for multiple comparisons (p-FDR < 0.05). Our study shows that tDCS has both simultaneous and cumulative effects on neuronal activity measured with rs-fMRI, especially involving major brain areas distant from the site of stimulation, and it is responsible for fatigue and cognitive and motor skills.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/6/672transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)multiple sclerosis (MS)healthy controlsresting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI)neuromodulationfractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFFs) |
| spellingShingle | Marco Muccio Giuseppina Pilloni Lillian Walton Masters Peidong He Lauren Krupp Abhishek Datta Marom Bikson Leigh Charvet Yulin Ge Resting-State Activity Changes Induced by tDCS in MS Patients and Healthy Controls: A Simultaneous tDCS rs-fMRI Study Bioengineering transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) multiple sclerosis (MS) healthy controls resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) neuromodulation fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFFs) |
| title | Resting-State Activity Changes Induced by tDCS in MS Patients and Healthy Controls: A Simultaneous tDCS rs-fMRI Study |
| title_full | Resting-State Activity Changes Induced by tDCS in MS Patients and Healthy Controls: A Simultaneous tDCS rs-fMRI Study |
| title_fullStr | Resting-State Activity Changes Induced by tDCS in MS Patients and Healthy Controls: A Simultaneous tDCS rs-fMRI Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Resting-State Activity Changes Induced by tDCS in MS Patients and Healthy Controls: A Simultaneous tDCS rs-fMRI Study |
| title_short | Resting-State Activity Changes Induced by tDCS in MS Patients and Healthy Controls: A Simultaneous tDCS rs-fMRI Study |
| title_sort | resting state activity changes induced by tdcs in ms patients and healthy controls a simultaneous tdcs rs fmri study |
| topic | transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) multiple sclerosis (MS) healthy controls resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) neuromodulation fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFFs) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/6/672 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marcomuccio restingstateactivitychangesinducedbytdcsinmspatientsandhealthycontrolsasimultaneoustdcsrsfmristudy AT giuseppinapilloni restingstateactivitychangesinducedbytdcsinmspatientsandhealthycontrolsasimultaneoustdcsrsfmristudy AT lillianwaltonmasters restingstateactivitychangesinducedbytdcsinmspatientsandhealthycontrolsasimultaneoustdcsrsfmristudy AT peidonghe restingstateactivitychangesinducedbytdcsinmspatientsandhealthycontrolsasimultaneoustdcsrsfmristudy AT laurenkrupp restingstateactivitychangesinducedbytdcsinmspatientsandhealthycontrolsasimultaneoustdcsrsfmristudy AT abhishekdatta restingstateactivitychangesinducedbytdcsinmspatientsandhealthycontrolsasimultaneoustdcsrsfmristudy AT marombikson restingstateactivitychangesinducedbytdcsinmspatientsandhealthycontrolsasimultaneoustdcsrsfmristudy AT leighcharvet restingstateactivitychangesinducedbytdcsinmspatientsandhealthycontrolsasimultaneoustdcsrsfmristudy AT yulinge restingstateactivitychangesinducedbytdcsinmspatientsandhealthycontrolsasimultaneoustdcsrsfmristudy |