Dementia Japan 32:17-23, 2018

Enhancement of neural plasticity by glial activation:
a possible mechanism of transcranial direct current stimulation

Hajime Hirase, Tuneko Mishima, Hiromu Monai

Laboratory for Neuron-Glia Circuitry, RIKEN Brain Science Institute

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been suggested effective for the enhancement of memory and cognition.  Despite multiple reports and clinical trials of tDCS in humans, its mechanism of action remains poorly understood.  Here we review published results of tDCS applied to dementia patients and propose an involvement of glial cell activation as a possible mechanism of tDCS based on our recent mouse experiments.

Address correspondence to Dr. Hajime Hirase, Laboratory for Neuron-Glia Circuitry, RIKEN Brain Science Institute (2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan)