Stefanie De Smet1, Chris Baeken2, Rudi De Raedt3, Matias M Pulopulos4, Lais B Razza5, Stefaan Van Damme6, Sara De Witte7, Andre R Brunoni5, Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt8. 1. Department of Head and Skin, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Stefanie.DeSmet@UGent.be. 2. Department of Head and Skin, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Psychiatry, Brussels University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. Electronic address: Chris.Baeken@UGent.be. 3. Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Rudi.DeRaedt@UGent.be. 4. Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. Electronic address: matias.pulopulos@unizar.es. 5. Laboratory of Neurosciences (LIM-27), Instituto Nacional de Biomarcadores em Neuropsiquiatria (INBioN), Department and Institute of Psychiatry, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Internal Medicine, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo & Hospital Universitário, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. 6. Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Stefaan.VanDamme@UGent.be. 7. Department of Head and Skin, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Sara.DeWitte@UGent.be. 8. Department of Head and Skin, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Marieanne.Vanderhasselt@ugent.be.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Research suggests that the combination of different non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), could enhance the effects of stimulation. Studies investigating the combination of tDCS and iTBS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are lacking. In this within-subjects study, we evaluated the additive effects of iTBS with tDCS on psychophysiological measures of stress. METHOD: Sixty-eight healthy individuals were submitted to a bifrontaltDCS + iTBS and shamtDCS + iTBS protocol targeting the DLPFC with a one-week interval. The Maastricht Acute Stress Test was used to activate the stress system after stimulation. Stress reactivity and recovery were assessed using physiological and self-report measures. RESULTS: The stressor evoked significant psychophysiological changes in both stimulation conditions. However, no evidence was found for differences between them in stress reactivity and recovery. Participants reported more pain and feelings of discomfort to the bifrontaltDCS + iTBS protocol. CONCLUSION: In this study set-up, iTBS plus tDCS was not superior to iTBS in downregulating stress in healthy subjects. SIGNIFICANCE: There is no evidence for an effect of combined tDCS-iTBS of the DLPFC on stress according to the parameters employed in our study. Future studies should explore other stimulation parameters, additive approaches and/or neurobiological markers.
OBJECTIVE: Research suggests that the combination of different non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), could enhance the effects of stimulation. Studies investigating the combination of tDCS and iTBS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are lacking. In this within-subjects study, we evaluated the additive effects of iTBS with tDCS on psychophysiological measures of stress. METHOD: Sixty-eight healthy individuals were submitted to a bifrontaltDCS + iTBS and shamtDCS + iTBS protocol targeting the DLPFC with a one-week interval. The Maastricht Acute Stress Test was used to activate the stress system after stimulation. Stress reactivity and recovery were assessed using physiological and self-report measures. RESULTS: The stressor evoked significant psychophysiological changes in both stimulation conditions. However, no evidence was found for differences between them in stress reactivity and recovery. Participants reported more pain and feelings of discomfort to the bifrontaltDCS + iTBS protocol. CONCLUSION: In this study set-up, iTBS plus tDCS was not superior to iTBS in downregulating stress in healthy subjects. SIGNIFICANCE: There is no evidence for an effect of combined tDCS-iTBS of the DLPFC on stress according to the parameters employed in our study. Future studies should explore other stimulation parameters, additive approaches and/or neurobiological markers.
Authors: Laís B Razza; Carlos A Buchpiguel; Stefanie De Smet; Izio Klein; Chris Baeken; Ricardo Galhardoni; Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt; André R Brunoni Journal: Trends Psychiatry Psychother Date: 2021-02-24
Authors: Lais B Razza; Matthias S Luethi; Tamires Zanão; Stefanie De Smet; Carlos Buchpiguel; Geraldo Busatto; Juliana Pereira; Izio Klein; Mitchel Kappen; Marina Moreno; Chris Baeken; Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt; André R Brunoni Journal: Int J Clin Health Psychol Date: 2022-09-12