Abstract
Peripheral neuropathy (PN), a prevalent ailment frequently linked to elevated morbidity, can arise from both traumatic and non-traumatic origins. Along with motor, sensory, and autonomic alterations in the afflicted limb, it can also cause neuroplastic changes in the cerebral cortex. Researchers advise controlling the peripheral effects while maintaining the damaged nerve’s cerebral plasticity. In most cases, this increases the motor activity in PN patients. One method for causing neuroplasticity in the cerebral cortex is non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS). On the motor cortex, this has either excitatory or inhibitory effects. This systematic review was conducted by three independent reviewers. A thorough search was conducted using various electronic databases; Pub Med, Science Direct, Scopus, EMBASE and screened the eligibility of titles and abstracts by two reviewers ‘SR’ and ‘AS’, both physiotherapists. Studies involving use of NIBS techniques in human participants of any age having peripheral neuropathy was eligible. Through systematic search from different electronic databases, total 107 studies were identified in this systematic review. Only 7 studies were included. All included studies were written and categorized in tabular form. A thorough search shows that non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) methods, which include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial electric stimulation (tES), were used in cognitive neuroscience to induce transient changes in brain activity and thereby alter the physiological changes of the subject.
Keywords: Motor Cortex, Neuroplasticity, Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Peripheral Neuropathy, Rehabilitation.