- 1. Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin 300192, P. R. China;
- 2. CASIC-CQC Software Testing and Assessment Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd, Beijing 100195, P. R. China;
- 3. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Neuromodulation and Neurorepair, Tianjin 300192, P. R. China;
The rehabilitation of motor dysfunction following stroke remains a major clinical challenge, underscoring the urgent need to develop novel therapeutic strategies to improve functional recovery in patients. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology has emerged as a cutting-edge approach in neurorehabilitation, demonstrating significant potential for motor function restoration. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), a non-invasive neuromodulation technique, can promote neuroplasticity by regulating cortical excitability. In recent years, studies have begun to explore the combination of BCI with tES to synergistically enhance neural remodeling within the central nervous system. This integrated multi-technology strategy is increasingly becoming a key focus in the field of neurorehabilitation. This review systematically summarized recent advances in tES-BCI integrated systems for neurorehabilitation, with a particular emphasis on widely adopted BCI paradigms and tES parameter configurations and stimulation modalities. Based on a comprehensive synthesis of existing evidence, this review summarizes the efficacy of this combined intervention strategy in rehabilitating upper and lower limb motor functions following stroke, highlights the methodological limitations and clinical translation challenges present in current research, and aims to provide insights for mechanistic exploration, system optimization, and clinical translation of integrated BCI-tES technology.
Citation： WANG Yichun, LI Wenwen, CHEN Xiaogang. A review of noninvasive brain-computer interfaces combined with transcranial electrical stimulation for neural rehabilitation. Journal of Biomedical Engineering, 2026, 43(1): 178-185, 192. doi: 10.7507/1001-5515.202509061 Copy
Copyright ? the editorial department of Journal of Biomedical Engineering of West China Medical Publisher. All rights reserved
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