Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation in Friedreich ataxia: anatomy matters

Roderick P.P.W.M. Maas, Dennis J.L.G. Schutter, Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation in Friedreich ataxia: anatomy matters, Clinical Neurophysiology, 2025, 2110784, ISSN 1388-2457, doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2025.2110784. 

In this issue of Clinical Neurophysiology, Naeije and colleague demonstrate, for the first time, an association between improvements in motor and non-motor symptoms following cerebellar tDCS and ataxia patients’ anatomical characteristics. patients with larger anterior and posterior lobe GM volumes were more likely to experience favorable effects on motor and non-motor symptoms, respectively, as compared to individuals with smaller volumes. Skin-cerebellum distance was not found to be correlated with tDCS-induced clinical changes. both in FA and in ataxia types with more marked cerebellar atrophy, the preliminary work by Naeije and colleagues marks an important first step towards developing individually tailored cerebellar tDCS interventions for patients with ataxia.