ArticleNature communications2018
Direct effects of transcranial electric stimulation on brain circuits in rats and humans.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 341 papers, 5 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.
Assessment of Efficacy and Safety of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) in Pediatric and Teenage Patients With Major Depressive Disorder During COVID-19 Pandemics
Modulation of the Motor Pathway by Transcranial Pulse Stimulation in People With ALS: a Pilot Randomized Trial
Overnight Temporal Interference Stimulation of Bilateral Hippocampi to Reduce Epileptogenic Biomarkers and Improve Sleep in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Who cites it
341 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation for Major Depressive Disorder and the Role of Intensity: A Systematic Review and Exploratory Meta-Analysis.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Neuromodulation for Post-Stroke Motor Recovery: a Narrative Review of Invasive and Non‑Invasive Tools.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2023Pooled it
- The influence of a single transcranial direct current stimulation session on physical fitness in healthy subjects: a systematic review.Experimental brain research · 2023Pooled it
- Transcranial current stimulation in epilepsy: A systematic review of the fundamental and clinical aspects.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS): from basic mechanisms towards first applications in psychiatry.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Transcranial direct current stimulation enhances delayed retention after 5 days of lower-limb motor skill learning.The Journal of physiology · 2026Trial
- Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on craving and negative emotion regulation in individuals at risk for problematic pornography use: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Trial
- Safety and efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation in addition to constraint-induced movement therapy for post-stroke motor recovery (TRANSPORT2): a phase 2, multicentre, randomised, sham-controlled triple-blind trial.The Lancet. Neurology · 2025Trial
- Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Schizophrenia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Lasting effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on the inducibility of synaptic plasticity by paired-associative stimulation in humans.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Trial
- Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in depression induces structural plasticity.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Long-Term Application of Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Does Not Improve Motor Learning in Parkinson's Disease.Cerebellum (London, England) · 2022Trial
- Multichannel anodal tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in a paediatric population.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- No aftereffects of high current density 10 Hz and 20 Hz tACS on sensorimotor alpha and beta oscillations.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Motor Improvements Following Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation with kTMP: A Case Study of Cerebellar Stroke.Cerebellum (London, England) · 2026Article
- A Multi-Scale Computational Framework for Evaluating Wireless Neuromodulation Feasibility via Magnetoelectric Nanoparticles.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- 2 mA is NOT 2 mA: Electric field variability in high-definition tDCS and its implications for precision neuromodulation in aging.Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Article
- Ultralight infrared-controlled wireless neuromodulation systems for freely behaving mice.Microsystems & nanoengineering · 2026Article
- Optimizing Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation Based on Frequency-Dependent Tissue Modeling and Signal Analysis.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Manipulating speech perception with amplitude-modulated kilohertz magnetic perturbation (AM-kTMP).bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
281 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Transcranial electric stimulation is a non-invasive tool that can influence brain activity; however, the parameters necessary to affect local circuits in vivo remain to be explored. Here, we report that in rodents and human cadaver brains, ~75% of scalp-applied currents are attenuated by soft tissue and skull. Using intracellular and extracellular recordings in rats, we find that at least 1 mV/mm voltage gradient is necessary to affect neuronal spiking and subthreshold currents. We designed an 'intersectional short pulse' stimulation method to inject sufficiently high current intensities into the brain, while keeping the charge density and sensation on the scalp surface relatively low. We verify the regional specificity of this novel method in rodents; in humans, we demonstrate how it affects the amplitude of simultaneously recorded EEG alpha waves. Our combined results establish that neuronal circuits are instantaneously affected by intensity currents that are higher than those used in conventional protocols.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.