Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation method, which is capable of modulating the excitability of targeted brain regions by passing a weak electric current through the cortex via two stimulating electrodes placed on the scalp.
OBJECTIVE: We reviewed the basic principle, stimulus program, advantages and adverse effects and especially the application in stroke and spinal cord diseases.
METHODS: The first author retrieved 1995/2011 PubMed database and Foreign Medical Journal Service. Key words were “tDCS, transcranial direct current stimulation, noninvasive brain stimulation, stroke” in English and; “transcranial direct current stimulation, noninvasive brain stimulation” in Chinese. 
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Anodal stimulation increases cortical excitability in the stimulated brain tissue while cathodal stimulation decreases it. It is a kind of old research methods, although the research is intermittent. But in recent years it has become a hotspot and has been made a lot of achievements. tDCS, a portable, safe, non-invasive, brain stimulation technique, which is capable of modulating the excitability of targeted brain regions, and especially a sham mode allowing controlled experiments and randomized controlled clinical trials is bring new hope for patients of central nervous system diseases. At present, it has illuminated the basic principle, and enters clinical second test stage.