Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non invasive, painless, harmless way to modulate cerebral cortex excitability. It was shown that anodal stimulation increases cortical excitability and the cathodal one decreases it (Nitsche and Paulus, 2000; Lang et al. 2004). To date, there is no data in the literature regarding the effect of tDCS on the corticodiaphragmatic pathways. This preliminary study aims to test and validate the modulating effect of tDCS on the excitability of the primary motor cortex dedicated to the hemi-diaphragms in a sample of healthy subjects, as a prelude to further large studies in patients with paretic hemi-diaphragms. Diaphragmatic motor evoked potentials will be assessed before and after applications of three different modalities of tDCS (anodal, cathodal and placebo).
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Change in the right side hemi-diaphragm's motor evoked potentials (MEPs) before and after applications of three different modalities of tDCS (anodal, cathodal and placebo) upon the left primary motor cortex.
Timeframe: Baseline MEPs (before tDCS), Post 0 MEPs (immediately after tDCS) and Post 10 MEPs (10 min after tDCS).