What is it about?
Our new Point of View paper in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair takes a hard look at a big question in stroke rehabilitation: "Why hasn’t non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) become routine clinical care, yet?" While NIBS is widely reported in psychiatric disorders, its application in neurorehabilitation remains limited and has not been approved by the FDA. Drawing from debates at the 6th International Brain Stimulation Conference 2025 (in Kobe, Japan), we argue that the problem isn’t whether NIBS works, but that we’ve been asking the wrong questions. Instead of one-size-fits-all protocols, we propose a shift toward precision neuromodulation, guided by: - Individual brain biology - Brain-state dependent stimulation - A view of recovery shaped by both space (brain anatomy) and time The future of neurorehabilitation may not be about treating “the stroke,” but about understanding each uniquely recovering brain.
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Why is it important?
Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques have been shown experimentally to modulate neural plasticity, albeit with varying degrees of efficacy. This paper reviews current perspectives on the factors underlying this variability, including the distinction between responders and non-responders, as well as individual differences across recovery trajectories (time).
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: To Treat or Not to Treat? A Point of View on the Clinical Translation of Non-Invasive Neuromodulation Therapy for Post-Stroke Upper Limb Recovery, Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, December 2025, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/15459683251399155.
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