Jana Wörsching1, Frank Padberg2, Stephan Goerigk3, Irmgard Heinz2, Christine Bauer2, Christian Plewnia4, Alkomiet Hasan2, Birgit Ertl-Wagner5, Daniel Keeser6. 1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU, Nussbaumstrasse 7, 80336 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: Jana.Woersching@med.uni-muenchen.de. 2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU, Nussbaumstrasse 7, 80336 Munich, Germany. 3. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU, Nussbaumstrasse 7, 80336 Munich, Germany; Department of Psychological Methodology and Assessment, LMU, Leopoldstrasse 13, 80802 Munich, Germany; Hochschule Fresenius, University of Applied Sciences, Infanteriestrasse 11a, 80797 Munich, Germany. 4. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Neurophysiology & Interventional, Neuropsychiatry and Werner Reichardt Center for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN), University of Tübingen, Calwerstrasse 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. 5. Department of Radiology, LMU, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. 6. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU, Nussbaumstrasse 7, 80336 Munich, Germany; Department of Radiology, LMU, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377 Munich, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been widely applied in cognitive neurosciences and advocated as a therapeutic intervention, e.g. in major depressive disorder. Although several targets and protocols have been suggested, comparative studies of tDCS parameters, particularly electrode montages and their cortical targets, are still lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated a priori hypotheses on specific effects of prefrontal-tDCS montages by using multimodal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in healthy participants. METHODS: 28 healthy male participants underwent three common active-tDCS montages and sham tDCS in a pseudo-randomized order, comprising a total of 112 tDCS-fMRI sessions. Active tDCS was applied at 2 mA for 20 min. Before and after tDCS, a resting-state fMRI (RS fMRI) was recorded, followed by a task fMRI with a delayed-response working-memory (DWM) task for assessing cognitive control over emotionally negative or neutral distractors. RESULTS: After tDCS with a cathode-F3/anode-F4 montage, RS-fMRI connectivity decreased in a medial part of the left PFC. Also, after the same stimulation condition, regional brain activity during DWM retrieval decreased more in this area after negative than after neutral distraction, and responses to the DWM task were faster, independent of distractor type. CONCLUSION: The current study does not confirm our a priori hypotheses on direction and localization of polarity-dependent tDCS effects using common bipolar electrode montages over PFC regions, but it provides evidence for montage-specific effects on multimodal neurophysiological and behavioral outcome measures. Systematic research on the actual targets and the respective dose-response relationships of prefrontal tDCS is warranted.
BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been widely applied in cognitive neurosciences and advocated as a therapeutic intervention, e.g. in major depressive disorder. Although several targets and protocols have been suggested, comparative studies of tDCS parameters, particularly electrode montages and their cortical targets, are still lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated a priori hypotheses on specific effects of prefrontal-tDCS montages by using multimodal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in healthy participants. METHODS: 28 healthy male participants underwent three common active-tDCS montages and sham tDCS in a pseudo-randomized order, comprising a total of 112 tDCS-fMRI sessions. Active tDCS was applied at 2 mA for 20 min. Before and after tDCS, a resting-state fMRI (RS fMRI) was recorded, followed by a task fMRI with a delayed-response working-memory (DWM) task for assessing cognitive control over emotionally negative or neutral distractors. RESULTS: After tDCS with a cathode-F3/anode-F4 montage, RS-fMRI connectivity decreased in a medial part of the left PFC. Also, after the same stimulation condition, regional brain activity during DWM retrieval decreased more in this area after negative than after neutral distraction, and responses to the DWM task were faster, independent of distractor type. CONCLUSION: The current study does not confirm our a priori hypotheses on direction and localization of polarity-dependent tDCS effects using common bipolar electrode montages over PFC regions, but it provides evidence for montage-specific effects on multimodal neurophysiological and behavioral outcome measures. Systematic research on the actual targets and the respective dose-response relationships of prefrontal tDCS is warranted.
Authors: Thomas G Adams; Josh M Cisler; Benjamin Kelmendi; Jamilah R George; Stephen A Kichuk; Christopher L Averill; Alan Anticevic; Chadi G Abdallah; Christopher Pittenger Journal: Depress Anxiety Date: 2021-08-31 Impact factor: 6.505
Authors: Daniel Keeser; Lucia Bulubas; Frank Padberg; Eva Mezger; Paulo Suen; Priscila V Bueno; Fabio Duran; Geraldo Busatto; Edson Amaro; Isabela M Benseñor; Paulo A Lotufo; Stephan Goerigk; Wagner Gattaz; Andre R Brunoni Journal: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Date: 2020-09-02 Impact factor: 5.270
Authors: Eva Mezger; Frank Padberg; Daniel Keeser; Boris-Stephan Rauchmann; Andre R Brunoni; Lucia Bulubas; Axel Thielscher; Jana Werle; Matin Mortazavi; Temmuz Karali; Sophia Stöcklein; Birgit Ertl-Wagner; Stephan Goerigk Journal: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Date: 2020-08-02 Impact factor: 5.270