, 2006, 2009; Datta et al., 2009; Salvador et al., 2010). However, at present these models require certain assumptions: in particular it is important that the skull is intact, as the skull insulates the brain from peaks of current. FEM models typically use a single ‘standard’ head model (in fact, it is the ‘Colin27’ model created by the Montreal Neurological

Institute, which is the brain model distributed with magnetic resonance imaging analysis packages such as spm). Clearly, individual brains that differ significantly from this model will have different electric field distributions at the brain surface. Some attempts have been made to use individualized head models to predict the effects of tDCS (Datta MK-2206 research buy et al., 2011). However, given the time and effort required in obtaining high-quality structural images and in the calculations required, we do not imagine that such a personalized approach will be widely adopted. We also note the use of electrical stimulation for promoting bone repair after injury (Friedenberg et al., 1971, 1974); although the currents used in tCS are comparable to or higher than those used for osteogenesis, the effect on the skull of repeated sessions of tCS Selleck Trametinib is not known and has not been studied. Worryingly, these early studies also showed osteonecrosis at high currents or around the anode. The greatest promise of brain stimulation for clinical applications appears

to come when sessions of stimulation are delivered with a short inter-session Decitabine solubility dmso interval. The exact parameters of stimulation that deliver a maximal effect are not known, and are likely to be person-specific.

It is known that daily sessions of tDCS are more effective than sessions on alternate days (Alonzo et al., 2012), but it is not necessarily the case that more frequent sessions are more beneficial. The mechanisms that underlie the longer-lasting effects of stimulation are complex and rely on processes with different time courses. It is known, for example, that the effects of rapid TMS protocols are sensitively dependent on the temporal parameters (Huang et al., 2005; Hamada et al., 2008), but larger time-scale effects have not been sufficiently explored. We have discussed a number of issues that arise in the use of brain stimulation. We have suggested that there are two separate types of control condition that are appropriate for such experiments. How should one choose an appropriate method for a given experiment? Two factors influence this decision: the safety of the participant, and the desire to maintain the scientific integrity of the data. We suggest that where possible sham conditions should employ inactive sham stimulation to minimize the stimulation dose per participant. However, we acknowledge that this may not always be practicable as the active stimulation condition may produce perceptible effects that would make the two conditions distinguishable.