Table 2.
Research Characteristics of tDCS.
| Study | Participant | Mean Severity (SD) | Intervention | Control | Outcomes | Muscle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention | Control | Intervention | Control | |||||||
| Mean Age (SD) |
N (Male/Female) |
Mean Age (SD) |
N (Male/Female) |
MAS | ||||||
| Andrade et al. (2017) | 54.08 (3.72) | 40 (22/18) | 54.76 (4.28) | 20 (12/8) | 3.3 (0.36) | 3.6 (0.5) | tDCS (Anodal) + CIMT 0.7 mA, 10 sessions |
Sham-tDCS + CIMT | MAS | upper limb |
| Hesse et al. (2012a) | 63.9 (10.5) | 32 (20/12) | 65.6 (10.3) | 32 (21/11) | 1.6 (2.9) | 1.4 (2.7) | tDCS (Anodal) 2.0 mA, 30 sessions |
Sham-tDCS | MAS | upper limb |
| Hesse et al. (2012b) | 65.4 (8.6) | 32 (18/14) | 65.6 (10.3) | 32 (21/11) | 1.0 (1.8) | 1.4 (2.7) | tDCS (Cathodal) 2.0 mA, 30 sessions |
Sham-tDCS | MAS | upper limb |
| Lee and Chun (2014) | 63.1 (10.3) | 20 (12/8) | 60.6 (14.1) | 20 (9/11) | 0.4 (0.5) | 0.5 (0.4) | tDCS (Cathodal) + VRT 2.0 mA, 15 sessions |
Sham-tDCS + VRT | MAS | upper limb |
| Mazzoleni et al. (2019) | 67.50 (16.30) | 20 (8/12) | 68.74 (15.83) | 19 (7/12) | 1.1 (1.86) | 1.58 (2.34) | tDCS (Anodal) + wrist robot-assisted rehabilitation 2.0 mA, 30 sessions |
Sham-tDCS + wrist robot-assisted rehabilitation | MAS | wrist |
| Viana et al. (2014) | 56.0 (10.2) | 10 (9/1) | 55.0 (12.2) | 10 (7/3) | 1.5 (0.7) | 1.5 (0.52) | tDCS (Anodal) + VRT 2.0 mA, 15 sessions |
Sham-tDCS + VRT | MAS | upper limb |
| Wu et al. (2013) | 45.9 (11.2) | 45 (34/11) | 49.3 (12.6) | 45 (35/10) | 2.0 (0.75) | 2.0 (0.5) | tDCS (Cathodal) + PT 1.2 mA, 20 sessions |
Sham-tDCS + PT | MAS | elbow, wrist |
tDCS: transcranial direct current stimulation; MAS: modified Ashworth scale; CIMT: constraint-induced movement therapy; VRT: virtual reality therapy; PT: physical therapy.