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Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often leads to disorders of consciousness (DOC) or persistent vegetative state (PVS), characterized by impaired arousal and awareness. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques have shown promise in modulating cortical excitability and potentially enhancing arousal and alertness in these patients. This systematic review aims to synthesize existing literature on the effects of NIBS on arousal and alertness among TBI patients with DOC or PVS.
Methods: A systematic search was conducted across multiple databases for studies investigating the use of NIBS techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in TBI patients with DOC or PVS. Studies were included if they assessed changes in arousal or alertness following NIBS intervention. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed using predefined criteria.
Results: A total of 11 studies with 475 patients (mean age 46.21 ± 12.31 years) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The majority of studies utilized TMS or tDCS as the NIBS modality. Findings suggest that NIBS may lead to improvements in arousal and alertness among TBI patients with DOC or PVS. However, the magnitude and duration of these effects varied across studies.
Conclusion: Non-invasive brain stimulation shows promise as a potential intervention for enhancing arousal and alertness in TBI patients with DOC or PVS. Further well-controlled studies are warranted to elucidate optimal stimulation parameters, long-term effects, and potential synergies with other rehabilitation approaches.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13760-025-02794-z | DOI Listing |
Trends Hear
September 2025
Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
While blink analysis was traditionally conducted within vision research, recent studies suggest that blinks might reflect a more general cognitive strategy for resource allocation, including with auditory tasks, but its use within the fields of Audiology or Psychoacoustics remains scarce and its interpretation largely speculative. It is hypothesized that as listening conditions become more difficult, the number of blinks would decrease, especially during stimulus presentation, because it reflects a window of alertness. In experiment 1, 21 participants were presented with 80 sentences at different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs): 0, + 7, + 14 dB and in quiet, in a sound-proof room with gaze and luminance controlled (75 lux).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransl Psychiatry
August 2025
Fudan-SANS Neuroscience Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, with growing evidence suggesting hypoalertness as a contributing factor to its associated cognitive impairments. Despite promising results from behavioral interventions employing external stimuli to improve cognitive function, the underlying neural mechanisms remain inadequately understood. Here, we identify the supramammillary nucleus (SuM) as a critical neural substrate involved in modulating alertness and cognitive deficits associated with ADHD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Behav Neurosci
July 2025
Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, United States.
Disruptions in sleep are common across clinical populations, particularly those with neurological and psychiatric disorders, making restorative sleep and sustained wakefulness a public health priority. Sleep is essential for brain function, impacting cognition in addition to serving as a critical factor in memory consolidation and healthy aging. Neuromodulation via transcranial photobiomodulation (t-PBM) increases cerebral mitochondrial activity and blood flow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurodev Disord
August 2025
Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Frescativägen 8, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden.
Background: People with Williams syndrome (WS) face challenges in various areas of cognitive processing, including attention. Previous studies suggest that these challenges are particularly pronounced when disengagement of attention from a previously attended stimulus is required, as compared to shifting attention without the need to disengage. Difficulties with attention could in turn be implicated in several of the behavioral characteristics of WS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCells
July 2025
Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, 71-017 Szczecin, Poland.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can modulate cortical excitability in a polarity-specific manner, yet identical protocols often produce inconsistent outcomes across sessions or individuals. This narrative review proposes that much of this variability arises from the brain's intrinsic temporal landscape. Integrating evidence from chronobiology, sleep research, and non-invasive brain stimulation, we argue that tDCS produces reliable, polarity-specific after-effects only within a circadian-homeostatic "window of efficacy".
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