Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Pilot Study.

This was a pilot study with only 20 children analysed, so it cannot establish whether cerebellar tDCS works. The main reaction-time result was confounded by a pre-existing group difference at the first sequence block; after adjustment, there was no group difference. The fewer-errors result was not statistically significant and was treated as a marginal exploratory finding. Many comparisons were made, and the supplied p values were not corrected for multiple comparisons. Children with ADHD and psychostimulant use were included, but the sample was too small to test whether these factors changed response. The same cerebellar target was used for all children, even though brain differences in DCD may vary between individuals. The Finger Nose Test may not be sensitive enough to detect small coordination changes. Only three sessions 48 h apart were tested, so longer or repeated stimulation was not examined.

Funded by Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. No competing-interests statement is provided in the supplied text.

Do not conclude that cerebellar tDCS improves motor learning in children with DCD. The primary reaction-time result was not conclusive, and the fewer-errors result was a non-significant finding in a 20-child pilot.