ArticleThe journal of headache and pain2018
Polarity-specific modulation of pain processing by transcranial direct current stimulation - a blinded longitudinal fMRI study.
Article in The journal of headache and pain, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Effect of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Postdural Puncture Headache: Results of Two Randomized Sham - Controlled Trials
Transcranial Static Field Stimulation (tSMS) and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for the Treatment of Neurological Symptoms
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparative Efficacy and Acceptability of Noninvasive Brain Stimulation for Migraine: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Brain and behavior · 2026Pooled it
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease Patients in the Off State: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial Examining the Effects on Pain With and Without the Influence of Dopaminergic Medication.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2025Trial
- Effect of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on the Intensity of Post-dural Puncture Headache: Results of Two Randomized Sham Controlled Trials.Neurology and therapy · 2025Article
- Assessing the Modulatory Effects of tDCS and Acupuncture on Cerebral Blood Flow in Chronic Low Back Pain Using Arterial Spin Labeling Perfusion Imaging.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Transcranial direct current stimulation for chronic headaches, a randomized, controlled trial.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Effects on Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) and Nociceptive Processing in Healthy Subjects: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Feasibility, Acceptability, and Efficacy of Home-Based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Pain in Older Adults with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: A Randomized Sham-Controlled Pilot Clinical Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Non-invasive brain stimulation for fibromyalgia: current trends and future perspectives.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
- Cortical stimulation for chronic pain: from anecdote to evidence.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2022Review
- The Concept, Development, and Application of a Home-Based High-Definition tDCS for Bilateral Motor Cortex Modulation in Migraine and Pain.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Effectiveness of Unihemispheric Concurrent Dual-Site Stimulation over M1 and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Stimulation on Pain Processing: A Triple Blind Cross-Over Control Trial.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- Methods and strategies of tDCS for the treatment of pain: current status and future directions.Expert review of medical devices · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTo enrich the hitherto insufficient understanding regarding the mechanisms of action of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in pain disorders, we investigated its modulating effects on cerebral pain processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
methodsThirteen right-handed healthy participants received 20 min of 1.5 mA tDCS applied over the primary motor cortex thrice and under three different stimulation pattern (1.anodal-tDCS, 2.cathodal-tDCS, and 3.sham-tDCS) in a blinded cross-over design. After tDCS neural response to electric trigeminal-nociceptive stimulation was investigated using a block designed fMRI.
resultsPain stimulation showed a distinct activation pattern within well-established brain regions associated with pain processing. Following anodal tDCS increased activation was detected in the thalamus, basal ganglia, amygdala, cingulate, precentral, postcentral, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while cathodal t-DCS showed decreased response in these areas (p
conclusionsThis study demonstrates polarity-specific modulation of cerebral pain processing, in reconfirmation of previous electrophysiological data. Anodal tDCS leads to an activation of the central pain-network while cathodal tDCS does not. Results contribute to a network-based understanding of tDCS's impact on cerebral pain-processing.
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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.