Can transcranial direct current stimulation on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improves balance and functional mobility in Parkinson’s disease?

•We investigated the effects of left DLPFC tDCS on balance and functional mobility in PD patients.•a-tDSC condition improved performance of all outcomes in comparison to the sham condition.•Compensatory motor mechanisms in PD patients may have been enhanced by a-tDCS in the DLPFC. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique increasingly explored for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although evidence is still inconsistent, there are preliminary findings suggesting its efficacy to improve motor function in individuals with PD, as the role of secondary motor areas remains unclear. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) tDCS on balance and functional mobility of individuals with PD. Seventeen individuals with PD, on-medication, aged between 40 and 90 years were recruited to enroll in a double-blind, randomized, cross-over trial. Each participant completed two conditions at least 48h apart, namely anodal-tDCS and sham-tDCS (placebo). The a-tDCS condition targeted the left DLPC (F3) and was applied during 20min using a 2mA current intensity. In the sham-tDCS condition, electrode position remained the same but the stimulator was turned off after 30s. Functional mobility and balance were assessed using the Berg Balance Scale, Dynamic Gait Index and Timed Up and Go. There were significant differences between conditions on all outcome measures, as the a-tDCS condition was associated with better performance in comparison to the sham condition (p