Prefrontal tDCS effects on appetite may depend on dopamine status: preliminary analysis of a clinical trial

Background: Obesity is associated with reduced activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a brain region that supports key dopamine-related cognitive and reward processes relevant to eating behavior. Recent research has shown that increasing DLPFC excitability via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can decrease appetite and body weight; however, variability in response across subjects is large. Here, we investigated whether COMT Val158Met polymorphism, a major determinant of prefrontal dopamine levels, influences tDCS effects on body weight and appetite in obesity.

Source: BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation - January 22, 2019 Category: Neurology Authors: P. Giacomo Fassini, S. Das, V. Suen, G. Magerowski, W. da Silva Junior, J. Marchini, M. Alonso-Alonso Source Type: research