Anodal Contralesional tDCS Enhances CST Excitability Bilaterally in an Adolescent with Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy: A Brief Report

Hemiparetic cerebral palsy (HCP), weakness on one side of the body typically caused by perinatal stroke, is characterized by lifelong motor impairments related to alterations in the corticospinal tract (CST). CST reorganization could be a useful biomarker to guide applications of neuromodulatory interventions, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), to improve the effectiveness of rehabilitation therapies. We evaluated an adolescent with HCP and CST reorganization who demonstrated persistent heightened CST excitability in both upper limbs following anodal contralesional tDCS. The results support further investigation of targeted tDCS as an adjuvant therapy to traditional neurorehabilitation for upper limb function.

偏瘫型脑瘫（Hemiparetic cerebral palsy, HCP）多由围产期卒中引发，以单侧肢体无力为主要表现，其特征为伴随皮质脊髓束（corticospinal tract, CST）结构改变的终身运动功能障碍。皮质脊髓束重塑可作为潜在生物标志物，用于指导神经调控干预措施的应用——例如经颅直流电刺激（transcranial direct current stimulation, tDCS）——从而提升康复治疗的有效性。我们对一名患有偏瘫型脑瘫且存在皮质脊髓束重塑的青少年患者开展了评估，该患者在接受对侧阳极经颅直流电刺激后，双侧上肢均呈现出持续升高的皮质脊髓束兴奋性。本研究结果支持进一步探索靶向经颅直流电刺激作为传统神经康复的辅助疗法，以改善上肢运动功能。