Trial reportAnnals of neurology2021
Targeted tDCS Mitigates Dual-Task Costs to Gait and Balance in Older Adults.
Trial report in Annals of neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 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
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on static and dynamic posture control in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Non-invasive brain stimulation enhances motor and cognitive performances during dual tasks in patients with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Pooled it
- Uncorking the limitation-improving dual tasking using transcranial electrical stimulation and task training in the elderly: a systematic review.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Transcranial direct current stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improves dual-task performance in people with stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Investigation the concurrent effects of multi-session anodal tDCS and postural training on postural stability and functional balance in patients with multiple sclerosis: cerebellum versus dorsolateral prefrontal cortex stimulation.Brain structure & function · 2025Trial
- Effects of HD-tDCS targeting prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and motor cortex on dual-task gait in older adults.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation influences cognitive-motor dual-task performance in children with cerebral palsy: a randomized controlled study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Trial
- Modulating Brain Activity to Improve Goal-directed Physical Activity in Older Adults: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Trial
- Comparing the effects of cerebellar and prefrontal anodal transcranial direct current stimulation concurrent with postural training on balance and fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis: a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial.Experimental brain research · 2024Trial
- Can transcranial direct current stimulation combined with interactive computerized cognitive training boost cognition and gait performance in older adults with mild cognitive impairment? a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Trial
- Transcranial direct current stimulation facilitates backward walking training.Experimental brain research · 2024Trial
- The Potential of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation to Alleviate Dual-Task Gait Costs in Older Adults: Insights from a Double-Blinded Pilot Study.Gerontology · 2023Trial
- High-definition tDCS of the motor cortex affects prefrontal and primary motor activity differently in young and older adults.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Group optimization methods for dose planning in tES.Journal of neural engineering · 2025Article
- The Science of Tai Chi andJournal of integrative and complementary medicine · 2025Review
- Recent advances of transcranial electrical stimulation in healthy aging and Parkinson's disease: Effects on dual tasking.Journal of Parkinson's disease · 2025Review
- In Parkinson's disease, dual-tasking reduces gait smoothness during the straight-walking and turning-while-walking phases of the Timed Up and Go test.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- The Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex: A High-level Hub for Allostatic Cardiovascular Control.Current neuropharmacology · 2025Review
- Behavioral and Neural correlates of Post-STROKE Fatigue: A randomized controlled trial protocol.PloS one · 2025Article
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Improving Balance in Healthy Older Adults and Older Adults with Stroke: A Scoping Review.Brain sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveAmong older adults, the ability to stand or walk while performing cognitive tasks (ie, dual-tasking) requires coordinated activation of several brain networks. In this multicenter, double-blinded, randomized, and sham-controlled study, we examined the effects of modulating the excitability of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) and the primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) on dual-task performance "costs" to standing and walking.
methodsFifty-seven older adults without overt illness or disease completed 4 separate study visits during which they received 20 minutes of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) optimized to facilitate the excitability of the L-DLPFC and SM1 simultaneously, or each region separately, or neither region (sham). Before and immediately after stimulation, participants completed a dual-task paradigm in which they were asked to stand and walk with and without concurrent performance of a serial-subtraction task.
resultstDCS simultaneously targeting the L-DLPFC and SM1, as well as tDCS targeting the L-DLPFC alone, mitigated dual-task costs to standing and walking to a greater extent than tDCS targeting SM1 alone or sham (p < 0.02). Blinding efficacy was excellent and participant subjective belief in the type of stimulation received (real or sham) did not contribute to the observed functional benefits of tDCS.
interpretationThese results demonstrate that in older adults, dual-task decrements may be amenable to change and implicate L-DPFC excitability as a modifiable component of the control system that enables dual-task standing and walking. tDCS may be used to improve resilience and the ability of older results to walk and stand under challenging conditions, potentially enhancing everyday functioning and reducing fall risks. ANN NEUROL 2021;90:428-439.
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.