It affects around 1% of the world population over 65 years of age as per the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019. Almost 250,000 people are affected in Brazil.

Effects of Aerobic Exercise and Transcranial Stimulation

The study was a randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled crossover study. The team analyzed 20 volunteers by placing the electrodes over specific brain regions and giving them a painless treatment through a weak current (2 milliamperes).

Along with the treatment the participants were also given two 30-minute sessions of aerobic exercise (cycling at moderate intensity) one week apart. The cognitive functions, pre-frontal cortex activity and spatiotemporal parameters of the participants were then assessed while walking.

“Despite the limitations of such a small sample size, we found that transcranial stimulation activated the pre-frontal cortex, a brain region that Parkinson’s patients use more to control gait than healthy individuals. A single session associated with exercise enhanced cognitive function and produced other improvements,” says Vitório, currently a Research Fellow at Northumbria University’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences in the United Kingdom.

The study thereby explored the effects of tDCS at a greater depth than earlier reported. And this effect also improved the motor activity in Parkinson’s patients by enhancing benefits of the aerobic exercise.

“Transcranial stimulation is safe and has been found promising to potentiate the effect of interventions and treatments. It’s often prescribed for depression, for example,” says Vitório.

Source: Medindia