ArticleNeuroImage. Clinical2026
Simulating tDCS-induced electric fields in stroke patients: Realistic-lesion head models are needed.
Article in NeuroImage. Clinical, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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
introductionTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is tested as tool for post-stroke rehabilitation in aphasia, and individualized simulations of tDCS-induced electric fields (E-fields) can guide its application. However, the accuracy of simulations is challenged by complex and variable tissue properties of stroke lesions. Here, we assessed the impact of stroke lesions on tDCS-induced E-fields realistically in terms of lesion size, shape, and conductivity.
methodsStructural and diffusion MRI datasets of stroke patients with aphasia (n = 13, six females, age = 38-70 years) and age-matched healthy controls (n = 13, eight females, age = 24-76 years) from a previous study were analyzed. Simulated E-fields were first compared between healthy head models with and without artificial lesions homogenously filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Then, the effects of lesion heterogeneity were tested by comparing E-fields for models of stroke patients with homogenous versus inhomogeneous (realistic) lesion conductivity informed by diffusion-to-conductivity mapping.
resultsAdding artificial lesions to healthy head models altered the E-field strengths (|E|) near the target region-of-interest (ROI) by up to 47%. Diffusion-to-conductivity mapping revealed substantial variability in lesion conductivities within and across patients. Modifying homogenous to realistic lesion models showed mostly small to moderate |E| differences within the ROI depending on montage type, lesion size, and lesion-to-target distance.
conclusionStroke lesions affect tDCS-induced E-fields with substantial variability across montages and individuals. These findings support the use of head models that include realistic representations of the shape, size and conductivity of the lesions to improve the accuracy of individualized tDCS simulations and guide personalized stimulation protocols in stroke rehabilitation.
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.