Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on α-band brain connectivity in disorders of consciousness
LI Hongwei
HUANG Binbin
ZHU Chuanhua
LI Wei
Abstract：Objective To investigate the modulatory effects of transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS)on directional informa-tion flow within the α-band functional brain networks in patients with disorders of consciousness(DoC).
Methods From October,2023 to October,2024,30 patients with DoC were recruited from Binzhou Medical University Hospital.They were assigned to minimally conscious state(MCS)group(n=15)and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome(UWS)group(n=15).All the patients received conventional rehabilitation and tDCS at left dorsolater-al prefrontal cortex for four weeks.Ten-minute electroencephalography data were collected before and after treat-ment.
Results Two cases dropped out from MCS group.Granger causality(GC)connectivity between the prefrontal and pari-etal regions enhanced in both groups after treatment,particularly in bidirectional pathways between bilateral pre-frontal and parietal regions,as well as between frontocentral and parietal regions,and limbic-central connections.GC connectivity was extensive and bidirectional in MCS group,and localized and unidirectional in UWS group.
Conclusion tDCS can enhance directional information flow between bilateral prefrontal and parietal regions in patients with DoC,for promoting recovery of consciousness.Neural plasticity was better in MCS patients than in UWS patients.
Keywords：disorders of consciousnesstranscranial direct current stimulationelectroencephalographyGranger causality analysis
Publication Date：2025-09-25
Online Publishing Date：2025-10-17(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 1050-1056 )