Changes in motor cortical excitability in schizophrenia following transcranial direct current stimulation

Publication date: Available online 10 November 2018Source: Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological PsychiatryAuthor(s): Pedro Caldana Gordon, Leandro Lane da Costa Valiengo, Vanessa Jesus Rodrigues de Paula, Ricardo Galhardoni, Ulf Ziemann, Daniel Ciampi de Andrade, Andre Russowsky BrunoniAbstractSchizophrenia is a disorder associated with cortical inhibition deficits. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) induces changes in cortical excitability in healthy subjects and individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders depending on the stimulation parameters. Our aim was to investigate whether a previously published tDCS protocol associated with symptomatic improvement in schizophrenia would induce changes in motor cortical excitability, assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation paradigms, i.e., short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intra-cortical facilitation (ICF). We assessed cortical excitability measurements in 48 subjects with schizophrenia before and after a single session of active tDCS (20 min, 2 mA, anode over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cathode over left temporoparietal cortex) or sham. Those who received active tDCS had a significant increase of SICI in the left motor cortex compared to those who received sham stimulation (Cohen's d = 0.54, p = .019). No changes were observed for ICF. In addition, lower SICI was associated with higher age (β = −0.448, p < .01). Increase in intracortical inhibition...
Source: Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research