Non-invasive Brain Stimulation as Treatment for Motor Impairment in People with Parkinson's Disease: Protocol for an Umbrella Review

PONE-D-24-08118

Dear Dr. Harris,

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PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Does the manuscript provide a valid rationale for the proposed study, with clearly identified and justified research questions?

The research question outlined is expected to address a valid academic problem or topic and contribute to the base of knowledge in the field.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Is the protocol technically sound and planned in a manner that will lead to a meaningful outcome and allow testing the stated hypotheses?

The manuscript should describe the methods in sufficient detail to prevent undisclosed flexibility in the experimental procedure or analysis pipeline, including sufficient outcome-neutral conditions (e.g. necessary controls, absence of floor or ceiling effects) to test the proposed hypotheses and a statistical power analysis where applicable. As there may be aspects of the methodology and analysis which can only be refined once the work is undertaken, authors should outline potential assumptions and explicitly describe what aspects of the proposed analyses, if any, are exploratory.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Is the methodology feasible and described in sufficient detail to allow the work to be replicable?

Descriptions of methods and materials in the protocol should be reported in sufficient detail for another researcher to reproduce all experiments and analyses. The protocol should describe the appropriate controls, sample size calculations, and replication needed to ensure that the data are robust and reproducible.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Have the authors described where all data underlying the findings will be made available when the study is complete?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above and, if applicable, provide comments about issues authors must address before this protocol can be accepted for publication. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about research or publication ethics.

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(Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This protocol is for an umbrella review which will be of high significance as it deals with non invasive brain stimulation as treatment for motor impairment in people with parkinson's disease. The authors have described the protocol in detail and it follows the PlosOne guidelines. The umbrella review proposed in this protocol will adhere to the JBI and PRISMA guidelines. The authors have done a good job in detailing the material and methods along with inclusion and exclusion criterion. They also talk about the statistical approached that they will take for the umbrella review. The authors also talk about the strength of the umbrella review.

The only aspect that the authors do not talk about is the shortcomings of the protocol. Every protocol has strengths and shortcomings and the authors should talk about the shortcomings of this protocol.

Reviewer #2: In the inclusive criteria, please also include studies so that it will cover a wide range of population across different regions of the world. This will help in making conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the method on different populations of people.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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