Can transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improve impulsivity in healthy and psychiatric adult populations? A systematic review

Publication date: Available online 9 November 2019Source: Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological PsychiatryAuthor(s): JulianaTeti Mayer, Gilles Chopard, Magali Nicolier, Damien Gabriel, Caroline Masse, Julie Giustiniani, Pierre Vandel, Emmanuel Haffen, Djamila BennabiAbstractImpulsivity is a multidimensional phenomenon that remains hard to define. It compounds the core pathological construct of many neuropsychiatric illnesses, and despite its close relation to suicide risk, it currently has no specific treatment. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique whose application results in cognitive function improvement, both in healthy and psychiatric populations. Following PRISMA recommendations, a systematic review of the literature concerning tDCS's effects on impulsive behaviour was performed using the PubMed database. The research was based on the combination of the keyword ‘tDCS’ with ‘impulsivity’, ‘response inhibition’, ‘risk-taking’, ‘planning’, ‘delay discounting’ or ‘craving’. The initial search yielded 309 articles, 92 of which were included. Seventy-four papers demonstrated improvement in task performance related to impulsivity in both healthy and clinical adult populations. However, results were often inconsistent. The conditions associated with improvement, such as tDCS parameters and other aspects that may influence tDCS's outcomes, are discussed. The overall effects of tDCS ...
Source: Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research