Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Depression

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS): Stimulation was delivered using a high-precision transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device (Soterix Medical, Inc., New York, USA) via five small electrode pads (1 cm × 1 cm) arranged in a 4×1 ring configuration.

Study summary

Background:

Depression is a common mental disorder characterized by persistent low mood and anhedonia. Pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments demonstrate only moderate efficacy. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques offer novel therapeutic approaches. Among these, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) holds advantages due to its simplicity, low cost, and minimal side effects, exhibiting good efficacy and tolerability in depression treatment. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a core region of the cognitive control network, serves as a traditional target for non-invasive brain stimulation in depression and plays a crucial role in positive affect (PA) processing. Conversely, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), a central region of the default mode network, participates in negative self-referential processing and negative affect (NA) regulation, demonstrating potential as a novel therapeutic target.

Objective:

Given the distinct roles of DLPFC and DMPFC in separate affective regulation networks, this study aims to investigate the differential effects of different tDCS targets on emotional regulation in patients with depression.

Design:

This study employed a randomized, double-blind, controlled design. Participants diagnosed with depression will be randomly assigned to receive either effective tDCS targeting the left DLPFC or effective tDCS targeting the DMPFC. Primary outcome measures focus on changes in clinical symptom assessments.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) — Baseline, immediately after all intervention, and follow-up after all intervention (1 month).
  Improvement in HAMD scores following transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) treatment (The HAMD consists of 17 items, with a total score ranging from 0 to 53; a higher score indicates more severe depressive symptoms).
• Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) — Baseline and immediately after all intervention.
  The degree of improvement in PANAS scores following transcranial direct current stimulation (used to assess patients' positive and negative emotions; consisting of 20 items, with 10 items representing positive emotions; the total positive emotion score ranges from 0 to 50, with higher scores indicating greater vitality and enthusiasm; the other 10 items represent negative emotions, with the total negative emotion score ranging from 0 to 50; higher scores indicate stronger negative emotions).

Trial sites (1)

More The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University trials in China

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