SynthesisNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2025
Systematic review: Resting state functional MRI as a biomarker for non-invasive brain stimulation in upper limb recovery post-stroke.
Synthesis in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStroke is a leading cause of adult-onset disability. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) may improve arm weakness after stroke. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and near-infrared spectroscopy (rs-fNIRS) assess brain connectivity. Identifying the effect of NIBS on rs-fMRI/rs-fNIRS may illuminate the post-stroke recovery process. This systematic review assesses NIBS effects on clinical and rs-fMRI/rs-fNIRS outcomes in stroke survivors with arm weakness.
methodsSystematic searches were conducted in EMBASE and MEDLINE. Articles involving adults with arm weakness from stroke, treated with more than one session of NIBS (TMS/tDCS/tVNS) and reporting clinical and rs-fMRI/rs-fNIRS outcomes at baseline and post-intervention were included. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of included studies. Data extraction and narrative synthesis were performed.
resultsTwelve articles containing 393 participants were included. Nine studies assessed TMS, two studies assessed tDCS, and one study used dual-mode stimulation (TMS and tDCS). All studies showed significant improvements in clinical measures of arm function compared to baseline following NIBS. All studies showed changes in functional connectivity post-intervention. Enhanced interhemispheric connectivity, particularly between primary motor cortices, was positively correlated with functional outcomes. DISCUSSION: Both TMS and tDCS are promising adjunctive therapies for arm weakness post-stroke. Rs-fMRI, particularly interhemispheric connectivity, may provide a valid biomarker of restitution of function with NIBS. Future research should involve.
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.