PhD defence J. (Joris) van der Cruijsen

Below is a brief summary about the dissertation:

Transcranial electric stimulation (tES) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that passes low currents through the brain via electrodes on the scalp. Dependent on the current polarity, tES can inhibit or enhance the activity of motor areas that are active during motor learning tasks. As such, transcranial electric stimulation could potentially play a role in the recovery of motor impairments after stroke by restoring the balance between hemispheres (interhemispheric inhibition) or by supporting the increased involvement of motor areas that were less involved pre-stroke (vicariation model) in a patient-specific way (bimodal balance recovery model). The studies described in this thesis aimed to evaluate and improve the application of tES, with a focus on tDCS, in patients after a stroke by 1) identifying and understanding electrophysiologic correlates of motor learning, 2) replicating a new type of tES that targets the entire resting-state motor network, 3) developing methods to include stroke lesions in volume conductor models, and 4) determining if conventional stimulation protocols are suitable to stimulate the motor regions of patients without individualization to brain anatomy and function.