Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)/Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS)Original ArticleConcurrent Cognitive Control Training Augments the Antidepressant Efficacy of tDCS: A Pilot Study
Section snippets
Background
Because of its well-established neuromodulatory properties, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been investigated as a therapeutic tool in psychiatry, with much of this work being done in major depressive disorder (MDD). Five open-label [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] and seven randomized sham-controlled investigations [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12] have been conducted and all, but one [8], have described significant antidepressant effects. However, the results of two recent
Participants
Twenty seven acutely depressed adults participated in the study (10 female, 24 right-handed, mean age ± SD = 40.44 ± 14.52 years). All met criteria for a current DSM-IV defined Major Depressive Episode at study entry as confirmed by clinician administered interview with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview [30]. While no minimum level of depression severity was required for study entry, baseline Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) [31] scores ranged between 19 and 41,
Baseline demographics, clinical characteristics and cognitive performance
Participants in the three treatment groups did not differ significantly in age, number of year's education or estimated IQ (WTAR). No baseline group differences were observed in depression severity (MADRS), length of current depressive episode, number of prior episodes, age at initial depression onset, number of prior antidepressant medications trialed (Table 1) or baseline performance (reaction time or accuracy) on any version of the two-back task.
Clinical outcomes
One participant in the tDCS + CCT condition
Discussion
The current pilot study is the first investigation into whether administration of simultaneous cognitive training augments the therapeutic efficacy of tDCS for MDD. The results support the hypothesis that concurrent CCT potentiates antidepressant outcomes from anodal DLPFC tDCS. While five sessions of tDCS + sham CCT, sham tDCS + CCT and tDCS + CCT resulted in varying degrees of acute antidepressant efficacy, only the double active treatment condition was associated with ongoing antidepressant
Acknowledgments
We are extremely grateful to A/Prof Greg Siegle of Pittsburgh University, United States, for generously providing the CCT and PVT paradigms and associated technical assistance.
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Cited by (0)
This study was made possible by funding received from Monash University, Department of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and the National Health and Medical Research Council.