Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Psychiatric Disorders: A Comprehensive Review

Adriano H Moffa; Andre R Brunoni; Stevan Nikolin; Colleen K Loo

doi:10.1016/j.psc.2018.05.002

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Psychiatric Disorders: A Comprehensive Review

Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2018 Sep;41(3):447-463. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2018.05.002.

Authors

Adriano H Moffa¹, Andre R Brunoni², Stevan Nikolin³, Colleen K Loo³

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hospital Road, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales 2031, Australia. Electronic address: adriano.moffa@student.unsw.edu.au.
² Service of Interdisciplinary Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Neurosciences (LIM-27) and National Institute of Biomarkers in Psychiatry (INBioN), Department and Institute of Psychiatry, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, R. Dr. Ovídio Pires de Campos 785, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01060-970, Brazil; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Leopoldstr. 13, Munich 80802, Germany.
³ School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hospital Road, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales 2031, Australia.

PMID: 30098657
DOI: 10.1016/j.psc.2018.05.002

Abstract

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that has been gaining favor as a viable tool in Psychiatry. The purpose of this review is to summarize the evidence of tDCS as a treatment of disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Current findings indicate that tDCS is probably effective in non-treatment-resistant depressive patients. Regarding schizophrenia and OCD, present evidence is not robust enough, although preliminary results indicate that tDCS is a promising technique. Therefore, more trials are needed before using tDCS in a clinical setting.

Keywords: Major depression; NIBS; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Psychiatric disorders; Schizophrenia; Transcranial direct current stimulation; tDCS.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Brain / physiopathology*
Depressive Disorder, Major / therapy*
Electrophysiological Phenomena / physiology*
Humans
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / therapy*
Schizophrenia / therapy*
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / methods*