Abstract
Background Vestibular rehabilitation is useful to alleviate chronic dizziness in patients with vestibular dysfunction. It aims to induce neuronal plasticity in the central nervous system (especially in the cerebellum) to promote vestibular compensation. Transcranial cerebellar direct current stimulation (tcDCS) reportedly enhances cerebellar function. Objective/Hypothesis We investigated whether vestibular rehabilitation partially combined with tcDCS is superior to the use of rehabilitation alone for the alleviation of dizziness. Methods Patients with chronic dizziness due to vestibular dysfunction received rehabilitation concurrently with either 20-min tcDCS or sham stimulation for 5 days. Pre- and post-intervention (at 1 month) dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) scores and psychometric and motor parameters were compared. Results Sixteen patients completed the study. DHI scores in the tcDCS group showed significant improvement over those in the sham group (Mann–Whitney U test, p = 0.033). Conclusion Vestibular rehabilitation partially combined with tcDCS appears to be a promising approach.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 576-578 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Brain Stimulation |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2017 May |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Chronic dizziness
- Motor learning
- Transcranial cerebellar direct current stimulation
- Vestibular rehabilitation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Neuroscience(all)
- Clinical Neurology