Safety of noninvasive brain stimulation in children

Abstract

Purpose of review Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is a promising method for altering cortical excitability with clinical implications. It has been increasingly used in children, especially in neurodevelopmental disorders. Yet, its safety and applications in the developing brain require further investigation. This review aims to provide an overview of the safety of commonly used NIBS techniques in children, including transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Safety data for other NIBS methods is not reported in this review. Recent findings In line with studies from the last decade, findings in the last 2 years (2022–2023) support the safety of NIBS in children and adolescents within the currently applied protocols. Both tES and TMS are well tolerated, if safety rules, including exclusion criteria, are applied. Summary We briefly discussed developmental aspects of stimulation parameters that need to be considered in the developing brain and provided an up-to-date overview of tES/TMS applications in children and adolescents. Overall, the safety profile of tES/TMS in children is good. For both the tES and TMS applications, epilepsy and active seizure disorder should be exclusion criteria to prevent potential seizures. Using child-sized earplugs is required for TMS applications. We lack large randomized double-blind trials and longitudinal studies to establish the safety of NIBS in children. Video abstract http://links.lww.com/YCO/A78.