Gender differences of cortical neuroplasticity in humans, as revealed by transcranial direct current stimulation

Introduction: It is a well-known fact that brain functions differ gradually between males and females, as shown by certain aspects of cognitive performance and the susceptibility to develop certain neurological diseases. However, the neuronal foundations underlying these differences are still not well understood. We aimed here to explore gender differences of neuroplasticity in the human motor cortex, as induced by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). tDCS induces changes of motor cortical excitability both during and after stimulation. The effects depend on stimulation polarity: anodal tDCS enhances…