Facilitating Corticomotor Excitability of the Contralesional Hemisphere Using Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation to Improve Upper Limb Motor Recovery from Stroke-A Scoping Review

• Published in: Journal of clinical medicine Vol. 13; no. 15; p. 4420
• Main Authors: Tam, Pui Kit, Oey, Nicodemus Edrick, Tang, Ning, Ramamurthy, Guhan, Chew, Effie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.08.2024
• Subjects: Brain stimulation; Care and treatment; Complications and side effects; Diagnosis; Injuries; Intervention; intracerebral hemorrhage; Ischemia; non-invasive brain stimulation; Patient outcomes; Rehabilitation; Stroke; Stroke (Disease); Transcranial magnetic stimulation; upper limb impairment; Singapore; United States > US; intracerebral hemorrhage; stroke; non-invasive brain stimulation; upper limb impairment
• ISSN: 2077-0383; 2077-0383
• DOI: 10.3390/jcm13154420

Upper limb weakness following stroke poses a significant global psychosocial and economic burden. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is a potential adjunctive treatment in rehabilitation. However, traditional approaches to rebalance interhemispheric inhibition may not be effective for all patients. The supportive role of the contralesional hemisphere in recovery of upper limb motor function has been supported by animal and clinical studies, particularly for those with severe strokes. This review aims to provide an overview of the facilitation role of the contralesional hemisphere for post-stroke motor recovery. While more studies are required to predict responses and inform the choice of NIBS approach, contralesional facilitation may offer new hope for patients in whom traditional rehabilitation and NIBS approaches have failed.