Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation in neurological disease.

Abstract

Several studies have highlighted the therapeutic potential of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in patients with neurological diseases, including dementia, epilepsy, post-stroke dysfunctions, movement disorders, and other pathological conditions. Because of this technique's ability to modify cerebellar excitability without significant side effects, cerebellar tDCS is a new, interesting, and powerful tool to induce plastic modifications in the cerebellum. In this report, we review a number of interesting studies on the application of cerebellar tDCS for various neurological conditions (ataxia, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, essential tremor) and the possible mechanism by which the stimulation acts on the cerebellum. Study findings indicate that cerebellar tDCS is a promising therapeutic tool in treating several neurological disorders; however, this method's efficacy appears to be limited, given the current data.