Non-invasive Neuromodulation of the Brain, Treatment Options to Manage Locomotion Deficits, Migraine, and Clinical Depression

Episodic, and chronic migraines as well as tension headaches are multifaceted clinical diagnoses affecting at least 12% of the population worldwide from adolescence to advanced age. Several medically recognized co-morbidities include vestibular migraine, vascular migraine, significant association with neuro-psychiatric disorders notably major depression, and post traumatic concussion. Both headaches and depression are reported by patients with brain damage including post-stroke, and Parkinson’s disease. Dysregulated excitation thresholds affecting various neural networks within the brain are implicated in these medical diagnoses. Numerous evidence-based, multicenter, placebo-controlled studies, are published in peer-reviewed journals where biomedical researchers, rehabilitation clinicians, neurologists, and psychiatrists have used direct current (DC) also known as tDCS, and pulsed current (PC) also known as tPCS to manage signs and symptoms associated with damage to the brain and/or cranial nerves specifically the Trigeminal, Vagus, and Occipital nerves. Over the past 10-15 years these studies report much better clinical outcomes in several areas of medical practice. This session will review the electrophysiological science and the latest advancement in electrotherapeutic technology and offer new intervention options to complement the behavioral interventions provided by clinicians. Beneficiaries are patients coping with migraines, major depression, and those with impaired locomotion ability following stroke or Parkinson’s disease.