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CLINICAL TRIAL article

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

Sec. Brain Health and Clinical Neuroscience

Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1603797

This article is part of the Research TopicNeurobiological Mechanisms of Adjuvant Therapies for Personalized Stroke Rehabilitation: Towards Comprehensive RecoveryView all 6 articles

Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial: Efficacy and Mechanisms of Dual-Target andol tDCS in Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment

Provisionally accepted
Xiayan XueXiayan Xue1,2Sicong ZhangSicong Zhang1,2Qingjuan GuoQingjuan Guo1Jiali WuJiali Wu3,4Jingjing ZhangJingjing Zhang3,4Cong WangCong Wang3,4,5*Chunlei ShanChunlei Shan3,4,5*
  • 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
  • 2School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
  • 3Rehabilitation Center, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
  • 4Shanghai Key Laboratory of Flexible Medical Robotics, Tongren Hospital, Institute of Medical Robotics, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai, China
  • 5Yuanshen Rehabilitation Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

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Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) significantly hinders functional recovery and quality of life, yet current treatment options yield limited efficacy. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a promising non-invasive neuromodulation technique to improve cognitive function; however, conventional single-target approaches often produce variable outcomes across cognitive domains. This randomized controlled trial aims to investigate the efficacy and underlying neural mechanisms of dual-target anodal tDCS, simultaneously stimulating the ipsilesional dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and angular gyrus, in individuals with PSCI. Sixty participants will be randomly assigned to receive either dual-target or single-target stimulation over ten sessions across two weeks. The primary outcome is the change in cognitive performance measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, with secondary outcomes including digit span, trail making test, and modified Barthel index. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy will be used to examine alterations in cortical activation and functional connectivity pre-and post-intervention. We hypothesize that dual-target stimulation will result in superior cognitive improvements and enhanced brain network reorganization.

Keywords: post-stroke cognitive impairment, transcranial direct current stimulation, Dual-target stimulation, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, angular gyrus, functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Received: 01 Apr 2025; Accepted: 29 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Xue, Zhang, Guo, Wu, Zhang, Wang and Shan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Cong Wang, Rehabilitation Center, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
Chunlei Shan, Rehabilitation Center, Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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