Background: This investigation examines the clinical benefits of prefrontal cortex transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) treatment of working memory (WM) dysfunction in chronic schizophrenia patients.
Research design and methods: 34 schizophrenia (SZ) patients were evaluated at baseline, and 29 patients were randomly assigned to either active tDCS intervention or sham tDCS intervention. tDCS intervention applied 10 consecutive sessions (20 minutes, 2 mA, two sessions a day) over 5 days. WM performance (N = 25), symptom severity (N = 29), and resting EEG (N = 17) were assessed from pre- to post-tDCS intervention. Additionally, symptom severity was noted over a 12-week follow-up period.
Results: WM accuracy significantly improved in the active tDCS group while WM accuracy in the sham tDCS group was unchanged. Significant symptom-severity reduction was sustained for one week after active tDCS intervention. Sustained resting gamma stability (RGS) was noted from baseline to post tDCS in the active-treatment group versus a significant elevation in pathological gamma power in the sham-tDCS group.
Conclusions: Examining treatment effects on RGS in SZ could be critical in identifying effective novel treatment strategies that promote left-DLPFC excitability and enhance WM functioning. Further empirical support is warranted to support the clinical benefits over longer periods of time.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04637724.
Ethics approval registration no: 337-19.
Keywords: Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC); neural oscillations; neuromodulation; resting gamma power; working memory (WM).