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Posture enhancement with cerebellum transcranial electrical stimulation: a systematic review of current methods and findings

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Abstract

Recently, transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) has gained increasing popularity among researchers, especially for recovery and improvement, but interpretation of these results is difficult due to variations in study methods and outcome measurements. The main goal of this study was to better understand the postural and balance indicators affected by cerebellar tES, as the cerebellum is the main brain region responsible for controlling balance. For this systematic literature review, three databases were searched for articles where the cerebellum was stimulated by any type of tES in either healthy participants or those with neurologic disorders. Postural, dynamic, and/or static stability measurements were recorded, and risk of bias was assessed on the PEDro scale. A total of 21 studies were included in the analysis. 17 studies reported improvements after application of tES. 14 studies stimulated the cerebellum unilaterally and 15 used this modality for 20 min. Moreover, all studies exclusively used transcranial direct current as the type of stimulation. Evaluation of PEDro results showed that studies included in the analysis utilized good methodology. Although there were some inconsistencies in study results, overall, it was demonstrated that tES can improve balance and postural index under both healthy and neurological conditions. Further research of bilateral cerebellar stimulation or the use of transcranial alternating current stimulation, transcranial random noise stimulation, and transcranial pulsed current stimulation is needed for a more comprehensive assessment of the potential positive effects of cerebellar tES on the balance system.

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Acknowledgements

The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work. All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Funding

The publication was supported from was supported from ERDF-Project Brain dynamics, No. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004643, and by an internal grant from Charles University, COOPERATIO.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Mostafa Mehraban Jahromi, Přemysl Vlček, Eugen Kvašňák & Marcela Grünerová Lippertová

  2. Applied Brain Electroencephalography, National Institute of Mental Health, Topolova 748, 25067, Klecany, Czech Republic

    Přemysl Vlček

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  1. Mostafa Mehraban Jahromi
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The initial idea for the article was from Přemysl Vlček. The literature search was initially conducted by Mostafa Mehraban Jahromi with the help of Přemysl Vlček. After selecting the articles for this review, Mostafa Mehraban Jahromi wrote the first draft of the article and Přemysl Vlček helped to prepare the final version of the manuscript. After a review the manuscript by Mostafa Mehraban Jahromi and Přemysl Vlček, Eugen Kvašňák helped with editing. During all stages, Marcela Grünerová Lippertová supervised the project/article and also helped in editing the final version of the manuscript.

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Jahromi, M.M., Vlček, P., Kvašňák, E. et al. Posture enhancement with cerebellum transcranial electrical stimulation: a systematic review of current methods and findings. Exp Brain Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-024-06808-9

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