Trial reportJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2023
Effects of bihemispheric transcranial direct current stimulation on motor recovery in subacute stroke patients: a double-blind, randomized sham-controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2023. 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 30 papers, 10 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.
Bihemispheric Modulation of the Motor Cortex by Repetitive Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation After Stroke
The Effect of Combined Transcranial Pulse Current Stimulation (tPCS) and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on Lower Limb Motor Function in Subacute to Chronic Stroke Patients With Hemiplegia: A Double-blind, Sham-controlled, Randomized Controlled Study
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Biomarker use in predicting transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) response: a systematic scoping review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Completion rate and safety of non-invasive brain stimulation for upper limb dysfunction after stroke: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Noninvasive brain stimulation for upper limb motor activity in children and young adults with cerebral palsy and pediatric stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review: Resting state functional MRI as a biomarker for non-invasive brain stimulation in upper limb recovery post-stroke.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with different rehabilitation interventions on motor function in people suffering from stroke-related symptoms: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Network meta-analysis of different electrical stimulation therapies for lower limb functional rehabilitation in stroke patients.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of home-based neurostimulation on outcomes after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2024Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy of different noninvasive brain stimulation protocols on upper-extremity motor function and activities of daily living after stroke: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2024Pooled it
- Research trends and hotspots of post-stroke upper limb dysfunction: a bibliometric and visualization analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of non-invasive neural stimulation modalities on upper limb function in subacute stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurologyPooled it
- Dissociable effects of β-tACS on spectral power and network organization for proximal versus distal upper-limb recovery in subacute stroke: double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial with high-density EEG.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with gait-oriented motor training on disability, quality of life, and motor function in individuals with subacute stroke: a randomized controlled trial.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Dual-tDCS combined with sensorimotor training promotes upper limb function in subacute stroke patients: A randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled study.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2024Trial
- Low intensity transcranial electric stimulation: Safety, ethical, legal regulatory and application guidelines (2017-2025: An update) - endorsed by the European Society for Brain Stimulation (ESBS) and by the International Federation for Clinical Neurophysiology (IFCN).Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Review
- Review
- Motor-related reorganization in left inferior frontal gyrus after subcortical stroke: neurochemical basis and response to targeted neuromodulation.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Functional Neuroimaging as a Biomarker of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation in Upper Limb Recovery After Stroke: A Systematic Review and Narrative Discussion.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Review
- Long-term use of tDCS-clinical and ethical considerations.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBihemispheric transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the primary motor cortex (M1) can simultaneously modulate bilateral corticospinal excitability and interhemispheric interaction. However, how tDCS affects subacute stroke recovery remains unclear. We investigated the effects of bihemispheric tDCS on motor recovery in subacute stroke patients.
methodsWe enrolled subacute inpatients who had first-ever ischemic stroke at subcortical regions and moderate-to-severe baseline Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) score 2-56. Participants between 14 and 28 days after stroke were double-blind, randomly assigned (1:1) to receive real (n = 13) or sham (n = 14) bihemispheric tDCS (with ipsilesional M1 anode and contralesional M1 cathode, 20 min, 2 mA) during task practice twice daily for 20 sessions in two weeks. Residual integrity of the ipsilesional corticospinal tract was stratified between groups. The primary efficacy outcome was the change in FMA-UE score from baseline (responder as an increase ≥ 10). The secondary measures included changes in the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), FMA-Lower Extremity (FMA-LE) and explorative resting-state MRI functional connectivity (FC) of target regions after intervention and three months post-stroke.
resultsTwenty-seven participants completed the study without significant adverse effects. Nineteen patients (70%) had no recordable baseline motor-evoked potentials (MEP-negative) from the paretic forearm. Compared with the sham group, the real tDCS group showed enhanced improvement of FMA-UE after intervention (p < 0.01, effect size η
conclusionsBihemispheric tDCS during task-oriented training may facilitate motor recovery in subacute stroke patients, even with compromised corticospinal tract integrity. Further studies are warranted for tDCS efficacy and network-specific neuromodulation.
trial registrationThis study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: (ID: NCT02731508).
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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.