Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34388179›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2021

Repeated anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in mild cognitive impairment patients increased regional homogeneity in multiple brain regions.

Fangmei He, Youjun Li, Chenxi Li, Liming Fan, Tian Liu, Jue Wang

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.

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  5. The impact of transcranial direct current stimulation on brain network connectivity and topology in post-stroke cognitive impairment patients: a resting-state fMRI study.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Trial
  6. Resting-State Neural Signatures of Moral Injury: Associations With Rumination.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2026
    Article
  7. A meta-analysis of the effect of non-invasive neuromodulation techniques on improving cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Fangmei HeThe Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Youjun LiThe Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Chenxi LiThe Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Liming FanThe Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Tian LiuThe Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.
Jue WangThe Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics and Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0003-1119-7956
Ministry of Civil Affairs · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can improve cognitive function. However, it is not clear how high-definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) regulates the cognitive function and its neural mechanism, especially in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study aimed to examine whether HD-tDCS can modulate cognitive function in individuals with MCI and to determine whether the potential variety is related to spontaneous brain activity changes recorded by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Forty-three individuals with MCI were randomly assigned to receive either 10 HD-tDCS sessions or 10 sham sessions to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC). The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and the regional homogeneity (ReHo) was computed using rs-fMRI data from all participants. The results showed that the fALFF and ReHo values changed in multiple areas following HD-tDCS. Brain regions with significant decreases in fALFF values include the Insula R, Precuneus R, Thalamus L, and Parietal Sup R, while the Temporal Inf R, Fusiform L, Occipital Sup L, Calcarine R, and Angular R showed significantly increased in their fALFF values. The brain regions with significant increases in ReHo values include the Temporal Inf R, Putamen L, Frontal Mid L, Precentral R, Frontal Sup Medial L, Frontal Sup R, and Precentral L. We found that HD-tDCS can alter the intensity and synchrony of brain activity, and our results indicate that fALFF and ReHo analysis are sensitive indicators for the detection of HD-tDCS during spontaneous brain activity. Interestingly, HD-tDCS increases the ReHo values of multiple brain regions, which may be related to the underlying mechanism of its clinical effects, these may also be related to a potential compensation mechanism involving the mobilization of more regions to complete a function following a functional decline.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overBrainBrain MappingCognitionCognitive DysfunctionDorsolateral Prefrontal CortexFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedTranscranial Direct Current Stimulation

Identifiers

PMID34388179
PMCPMC8363005
OpenAlexW3190464732

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.