Principles and applications of transcranial electrical stimulation

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) employs low levels of electrical energy, applied across the scalp. In this chapter, we review the physics and proposed underlying mechanisms of tDCS, along with more recent work investigating the reported effects of tDCS on human behavior and brain activity. We further review the state of tDCS research for motor and cognitive rehabilitation and highlight several ongoing efforts by Institute for Engineering in Medicine researchers developing novel tDCS-based interventions. Finally, we present a vision for the future of tDCS research, with an emphasis on the key challenges ahead, namely, functional and anatomical target specification and bringing tDCS into mainstream clinical domains.