ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2012
Systematic review of parameters of stimulation, clinical trial design characteristics, and motor outcomes in non-invasive brain stimulation in stroke.
Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Poststroke eHealth Technologies-Based Rehabilitation for Upper Limb Recovery: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- The Effectiveness of Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation for Stroke Patients With Upper Limb Impairments: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Influence of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Dosage and Associated Therapy on Motor Recovery Post-stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for improving activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning, in people after stroke.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Repetitive Peripheral Sensory Stimulation and Upper Limb Performance in Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Neurorehabilitation and neural repair · 2018Pooled it
- Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for improving activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning, in people after stroke.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on post-stroke dysphagia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2016Pooled it
- Effects of combining two techniques of non-invasive brain stimulation in subacute stroke patients: a pilot study.BMC neurology · 2022Trial
- Contralesional Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Does Not Enhance Upper Limb Function in Subacute Stroke: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.Neural plasticity · 2021Trial
- Neuroplasticity and network connectivity of the motor cortex following stroke: A transcranial direct current stimulation study.Human brain mapping · 2018Trial
- Targeted Neuromodulation of Abnormal Interhemispheric Connectivity to Promote Neural Plasticity and Recovery of Arm Function after Stroke: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial Study Protocol.Neural plasticity · 2018Trial
- tDCS and Robotics on Upper Limb Stroke Rehabilitation: Effect Modification by Stroke Duration and Type of Stroke.BioMed research international · 2016Trial
- Effect of a single session of transcranial direct-current stimulation on balance and spatiotemporal gait variables in children with cerebral palsy: A randomized sham-controlled study.Brazilian journal of physical therapyTrial
- Comparison of the Efficacy of Electrical Stimulation Modalities in Treating Post-Stroke Dysphagia: A Meta-Analysis.Dysphagia · 2026Review
- Upper-Limb Motor Recovery in the Late Subacute Phase After Stroke: A Single-Case Experimental Study of Robot-Assisted Therapy, rTMS, and Intensive Training for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation in the First Year After Stroke Using Modern Treatment Strategies.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Task-dependent cortical responses to peripheral and central neuromodulation during water and saliva swallowing after stroke: an exploratory fNIRS pilot study.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Optimal stochastic tracking control for brain network dynamics.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on upper limb motor function in stroke patients with right hemiplegia based on EEG microstates and EMG.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on upper extremity motor function in stroke survivors: study protocol of a randomized sham-controlled trial.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION/
objectivesRepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation are two powerful non-invasive neuromodulatory therapies that have the potential to alter and evaluate the integrity of the corticospinal tract. Moreover, recent evidence has shown that brain stimulation might be beneficial in stroke recovery. Therefore, investigating and investing in innovative therapies that may improve neurorehabilitative stroke recovery are next steps in research and development. Participants/Materials and Methods: This article presents an up-to-date systematic review of the treatment effects of rTMS and tDCS on motor function. A literary search was conducted, utilizing search terms "stroke" and "transcranial stimulation." Items were excluded if they failed to: (1) include stroke patients, (2) study motor outcomes, or (3) include rTMS/tDCS as treatments. Other exclusions included: (1) reviews, editorials, and letters, (2) animal or pediatric populations, (3) case reports or sample sizes ≤2 patients, and (4) primary outcomes of dysphagia, dysarthria, neglect, or swallowing.
resultsInvestigation of PubMed English Database prior to 01/01/2012 produced 695 applicable results. Studies were excluded based on the aforementioned criteria, resulting in 50 remaining studies. They included 1314 participants (1282 stroke patients and 32 healthy subjects) evaluated by motor function pre- and post-tDCS or rTMS. Heterogeneity among studies' motor assessments was high and could not be accounted for by individual comparison. Pooled effect sizes for the impact of post-treatment improvement revealed consistently demonstrable improvements after tDCS and rTMS therapeutic stimulation. Most studies provided limited follow-up for long-term effects.
conclusionIt is apparent from the available studies that non-invasive stimulation may enhance motor recovery and may lead to clinically meaningful functional improvements in the stroke population. Only mild to no adverse events have been reported. Though results have been positive results, the large heterogeneity across articles precludes firm conclusions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.