AI Chat Paper
Note: Please note that the following content is generated by AMiner AI. SciOpen does not take any responsibility related to this content.
{{lang === 'zh_CN' ? '文章概述' : 'Summary'}}
{{lang === 'en_US' ? '中' : 'Eng'}}
Chat more with AI
PDF (3 MB)
Collect
Submit Manuscript AI Chat Paper
Show Outline
Outline
Show full outline
Hide outline
Outline
Show full outline
Hide outline
Review Article | Open Access

The cognitive function effects of prefrontal tDCS for depression: a system review

Xiaoli Liu1,2,§Chang Yu2,§Hai-Hang Yu1,2Zan Chen1Dongsheng Zhou1,2( )
Sleep Clinic Center, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, Ningbo 315201, China
Ningbo Key laboratory of Sleep Medicine, Ningbo Kangning Hospital, Ningbo 315201, China

§ Xiaoli Liu and Chang Yu Contributed equally to this work.

Show Author Information

Graphical Abstract

Abstract

Background:

Depression is accompanied by cognitive control defects. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been found to be a promising non-invasive treatment for depression. Studies have explored whether tDCS can improve cognitive function in patients with depression, but the results were not consistent.

Methods:

The study summarized the relevant evidence from sham-controlled randomized controlled trials (RCTs) whether prefrontal tDCS improves cognitive function in patients with depression.

Results:

Seventeen sham-controlled studies were selected from 252 papers. Systematic analysis shows that the prefrontal tDCS has a promising prospect in the working memory and emotion process of depression patients; however, there is insufficient evidence to support the reliable influence of tDCS on psychomotor speed, learning, speech process, and overall cognitive function.

Conclusions:

Our review shows that the prefrontal tDCS has positive effects on working memory and emotion processes, but has limited impact on other cognitive functions.

References

[1]
World Health Organization. The Global Burden of Disease: 2004 Update. World Health Organization, 2008. Available at https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/43942.
[2]
Kube, T., Schwarting, R., Rozenkrantz, L., Glombiewski, J. A., Rief, W. Distorted cognitive processes in major depression: A predictive processing perspective. Biological Psychiatry, 2020, 87(5): 388-398.
[3]
Smith, J., Browning, M., Conen, S., Smallman, R., Buchbjerg, J., Larsen, K. G., Olsen, C. K., Christensen, S. R., Dawson, G. R., Deakin, J. F. et al. Vortioxetine reduces BOLD signal during performance of the N-back working memory task: A randomised neuroimaging trial in remitted depressed patients and healthy controls. Molecular Psychiatry, 2018, 23(5): 1127-1133.
[4]
Niendam, T. A., Laird, A. R., Ray, K. L., Dean, Y. M., Glahn, D. C., Carter, C. S. Meta-analytic evidence for a superordinate cognitive control network subserving diverse executive functions. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 2012, 12(2): 241-268.
[5]
McClintock, S. M., Husain, M. M., Greer, T. L., Cullum, C. M. Association between depression severity and neurocognitive function in major depressive disorder: A review and synthesis. Neuropsychology, 2010, 24(1): 9-34.
[6]
Kaser, M., Zaman, R., Sahakian, B. J. Cognition as a treatment target in depression. Psychological Medicine, 2017, 47(6): 987-989.
[7]
Demirtas-Tatlidede, A., Vahabzadeh-Hagh, A. M., Pascual-Leone, A. Can noninvasive brain stimulation enhance cognition in neuropsychiatric disorders? Neuropharmacology, 2013, 64: 566-578.
[8]
Somani, A., Kar, S. K. Efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in treatment-resistant depression: the evidence thus far. General psychiatry, 2019, 32: e100074.
[9]
Fitzgerald, P. B., Daskalakis, Z. J. A practical guide to the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of depression. Brain Stimulation, 2012, 5(3): 287-296.
[10]
Nitsche, M. A., Boggio, P. S., Fregni, F., Pascual-Leone, A. Treatment of depression with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS): A review. Experimental Neurology, 2009, 219: 14-19.
[11]
Cui, H., Jiang, L., Wei, Y., Li, W., Li, H., Zhu, J., Pang, J., Wang, J., Li, C. Efficacy and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for generalised anxiety disorder: A meta-analysis. General psychiatry, 2019, 32: e100051.
[12]
Peng, Z., Zhou, C., Xue, S., Bai, J., Tan, Q. Mechanism of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression. Shanghai Archives of Psychiatry, 2018, 30(2): 84-92.
[13]
Wu, X., Ju, Y., Jiao, D., Zhao, M. The effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on the reinstatement of methamphetamine-lnduced conditioned place preference in rats. Shanghai Archives of Psychiatry, 2018, 30(3): 188-198.
[14]
Bennabi, D., Haffen, E. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS): A promising treatment for major depressive disorder? Brain Sciences, 2018, 8(5): 81.
[15]
Mondino, M., Bennabi, D., Poulet, E., Galvao, F., Brunelin, J., Haffen, E. Can transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) alleviate symptoms and improve cognition in psychiatric disorders? The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 2014, 15(4): 261-275.
[16]
Brunoni, A. R., Schestatsky, P., Lotufo, P. A., Benseñor, I. M., Fregni, F. Comparison of blinding effectiveness between sham tDCS and placebo sertraline in a 6-week major depression randomized clinical trial. Clinical Neurophysiology, 2014, 125(2): 298-305.
[17]
Boggio, P. S., Bermpohl, F., Vergara, A. O., Muniz, A. L., Nahas, F. H., Leme, P. B., Rigonatti, S. P., Fregni, F. Go-no-go task performance improvement after anodal transcranial DC stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in major depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2007, 101(1-3): 91-98.
[18]
Brunoni, A. R., Zanao, T. A., Vanderhasselt, M. A., Valiengo, L., de Oliveira, J. F., Boggio, P. S., Lotufo, P. A., Benseñor, I. M., Fregni, F. Enhancement of affective processing induced by bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with major depression. Neuromodulation, 2014, 17(2): 138-142.
[19]
Brennan, S., McLoughlin, D. M., O'Connell, R., Bogue, J., O'Connor, S., McHugh, C., Glennon, M. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex enhances emotion recognition in depressed patients and controls. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 2017, 39(4): 384-395.
[20]
Baddeley, A. Working memory: looking back and looking forward. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2003, 4(10): 829-839.
[21]
Brunoni, A. R., Tortella, G., Benseñor, I. M., Lotufo, P. A., Carvalho, A. F., Fregni, F. Cognitive effects of transcranial direct current stimulation in depression: Results from the SELECT-TDCS trial and insights for further clinical trials. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2016, 202: 46-52.
[22]
Fregni, F., Boggio, P., Nitsche, M., Rigonatti, S., Pascual-Leone, A. Cognitive effects of repeated sessions of transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with depression. Depression Anxiety, 2006, 23(8): 482-484.
[23]
Pavlova, E. L., Menshikova, A. A., Semenov, R. V., Bocharnikova, E. N., Gotovtseva, G. N., Druzhkova, T. A., Gersamia, A. G., Gudkova, A. A., Guekht, A. B. Transcranial direct current stimulation of 20- and 30-minutes combined with sertraline for the treatment of depression. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 2018, 82: 31-38.
[24]
Moreno, M., Vanderhasselt, M. A., Carvalho, A. F., Moffa, A. H., Lotufo, P. A., Benseñor, I. M., Brunoni, A. R. Effects of acute transcranial direct current stimulation in hot and cold working memory tasks in healthy and depressed subjects. Neuroscience Letters, 2015, 591: 126-131.
[25]
Oliveira, J. F., Zanão, T. A., Valiengo, L., Lotufo, P. A., Benseñor, I. M., Fregni, F., Brunoni, A. R. Acute working memory improvement after tDCS in antidepressant-free patients with major depressive disorder. Neuroscience Letters, 2013, 537: 60-64.
[26]
Brunoni, A., Boggio, P. S., De Raedt, R., Benseñor, I. M., Lotufo, P. A., Namur, V., Valiengo, L. C. L., Vanderhasselt, M. A. Cognitive control therapy and transcranial direct current stimulation for depression: a randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2014, 162: 43-49.
[27]
Vanderhasselt, M. A., De Raedt, R., Namur, V., Lotufo, P. A., Bensenor, I. M., Boggio, P. S., Brunoni, A. R. Transcranial electric stimulation and neurocognitive training in clinically depressed patients: A pilot study of the effects on rumination. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 2015, 57: 93-99.
[28]
Loo, C. K., Alonzo, A., Martin, D., Mitchell, P. B., Galvez, V., Sachdev, P. Transcranial direct current stimulation for depression: 3-week, randomised, sham-controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2012, 200(1): 52-59.
[29]
Salehinejad, M. A., Ghanavai, E., Rostami, R., Nejati, V. Cognitive control dysfunction in emotion dysregulation and psychopathology of major depression (MD): Evidence from transcranial brain stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Journal of Affective Disorders, 2017, 210: 241-248.
[30]
Moreno, M. L., Goerigk, S. A., Bertola, L., Suemoto, C. K., Razza, L. B., Moffa, A. H., Veronezi, B. P., Tort, L., Nogueira, B. S., Gattaz, W. F. et al. Cognitive changes after tDCS and escitalopram treatment in major depressive disorder: Results from the placebo-controlled ELECT-TDCS trial. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2020, 263: 344-352.
[31]
McClintock, S. M., Martin, D. M., Lisanby, S. H., Alonzo, A., McDonald, W. M., Aaronson, S. T., Husain, M. M., O'Reardon, J. P., Weickert, C. S., Mohan, A. et al. Neurocognitive effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in unipolar and bipolar depression: Findings from an international randomized controlled trial. Depression and Anxiety, 2020, 37(3): 261-272.
[32]
Wolkenstein, L., Plewnia, C. Amelioration of cognitive control in depression by transcranial direct current stimulation. Biological Psychiatry, 2013, 73: 646-651.
[33]
Gögler, N., Willacker, L., Funk, J., Strube, W., Langgartner, S., Napiórkowski, N., Hasan, A., Finke, K. Single-session transcranial direct current stimulation induces enduring enhancement of visual processing speed in patients with major depression. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 2017, 267(7): 671-686.
[34]
Brunoni, A. R., Zanao, T. A., Ferrucci, R., Priori, A., Valiengo, L., De Oliveira, J. F., Boggio, P. S., Lotufo, P. A., Benseñor, I. M., Fregni, F. Bifrontal tDCS prevents implicit learning acquisition in antidepressant-free patients with major depressive disorder. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 2013, 43: 146-150.
[35]
Snyder, H. R. Major depressive disorder is associated with broad impairments on neuropsychological measures of executive function: A meta-analysis and review. Psychological Bulletin, 2013, 139: 81-132.
[36]
Beck, A. T. The evolution of the cognitive model of depression and its neurobiological correlates. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 2008, 165(8): 969-977.
[37]
Loo, C. K., Husain, M. M., McDonald, W. M., Aaronson, S., O'Reardon, J. P., Alonzo, A., Weickert, C. S., Martin, D. M., McClintock, S. M., Mohan, A. et al. International randomized-controlled trial of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in depression. Brain Stimulation, 2018, 11(1): 125-133.
[38]
Vigod, S., Dennis, C. L., Daskalakis, Z., Murphy, K., Ray, J., Oberlander, T., Somerton, S., Hussain-Shamsy, N., Blumberger, D. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for treatment of major depression during pregnancy: Study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial. Trials, 2014, 15(1): 1-11.
[39]
Yadollahpour, A., Jalilifar, M., Rashidi, S. Transcranial direct current stimulation for the treatment of depression: A comprehensive review of the recent advances. International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction, 2017, 15: 434-443.
[40]
Etkin, A., Patenaude, B., Song, Y. J., Usherwood, T., Rekshan, W., Schatzberg, A. F., Rush, A. J., Williams, L. M. A cognitive-emotional biomarker for predicting remission with antidepressant medications: A report from the iSPOT-D trial. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2015, 40(6): 1332-1342.
[41]
Miller, E. K. The prefrontal cortex and cognitive control. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2000, 1: 59-65.
[42]
Levens, S. M., Gotlib, I. H. Updating positive and negative stimuli in working memory in depression. Journal of Experimental Psychology General, 2010, 139: 654.
[43]
Joormann, J., Gotlib, I. H. Updating the contents of working memory in depression: Interference from irrelevant negative material. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2015, 117: 182-192.
[44]
Foland-Ross, L. C., Hamilton, J. P., Joormann, J., Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., Gotlib, I. H. The neural basis of difficulties disengaging from negative irrelevant material in major depression. Psychological Science, 2013, 24(3): 334-344.
[45]
Joormann, J., Levens, S. M., Gotlib, I. H. Sticky thoughts: Depression and rumination are associated with difficulties manipulating emotional material in working memory. Psychological Science, 2011, 22(8): 979-983.
[46]
Horvath, J. C., Forte, J. D., Carter, O. Quantitative review finds no evidence of cognitive effects in healthy populations from single-session transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Brain Stimulation, 2015, 8(3): 535-550.
[47]
Shin, Y. I., Foerster Á, Nitsche, M. A. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)—application in neuropsychology. Neuropsychologia, 2015, 69: 154-175.
[48]
Titley, H. K., Brunel, N., Hansel, C. Toward a neurocentric view of learning. Neuron, 2017, 95(1): 19-32.
[49]
Cirillo, G., Di Pino, G., Capone, F., Ranieri, F., Florio, L., Todisco, V., Tedeschi, G., Funke, K., Di Lazzaro, V. Neurobiological after-effects of non-invasive brain stimulation. Brain Stimulation, 2017, 10(1): 1-18.
Stress and Brain
Pages 97-107
Cite this article:
Liu X, Yu C, Yu H-H, et al. The cognitive function effects of prefrontal tDCS for depression: a system review. Stress and Brain, 2021, 1(2): 97-107. https://doi.org/10.26599/SAB.2020.9060006

2371

Views

309

Downloads

3

Crossref

Altmetrics

Received: 27 March 2020
Revised: 01 July 2020
Accepted: 25 August 2021
Published: 17 December 2021
© The Author(s) 2021

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission.

Return