Highlights
- •We examined the treatment potential of anodal tDCS stimulation for adult ADHD.
- •Three TDCS sessions reduced false positives on a continuous performance task.
- •Repeated tDCS over the left DLPFC may treat impulsivity in adult ADHD.
Abstract
Background
Impulsivity is a core deficit in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
(DLPFC) has been shown to modulate cognitive control circuits and could enhance DLPFC
activity, leading to improved impulse control in ADHD.
Objective
Hypothesis: We predicted 2.0 mA anodal stimulation (tDCS) versus sham stimulation
applied over the left DLPFC would improve Conners Continuous Performance Task (CPT)
scores. Our secondary hypothesis predicted that stop signal task (SST) reaction time
(SSRT) would decrease with tDCS (versus sham).
Methods
Thirty-seven participants completed two periods of three tDCS (or sham) sessions two
weeks apart in a within-subject, double-blind, counterbalanced order. Participants
performed a fractal N-back training task concurrent with tDCS (or sham) stimulation.
Participants completed the CPT and SST at the beginning of treatment (baseline), at
the end of the treatment, and at a 3-day post-stimulation follow-up.
Results
There was a significant stimulation condition by session interaction for CPT false
positive scores (χ2 = 15.44, p < 0.001) driven by a decrease in false positive errors from baseline to
end of treatment in the tDCS group (β = −0.36, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) −0.54
to −0.18, p < 0.001). This effect did not persist at follow-up (β = −0.13, p > 0.05).
There was no significant stimulation condition by session interaction effect on CPT
true positive errors or response time (ps > 0.05). No significant change in SSRT performance
was observed (p > 0.05).
Conclusion
These findings suggest that stimulation of the left DLPFC with tDCS can improve impulsivity
symptoms in ADHD, supporting the therapeutic potential for tDCS in adult ADHD patients.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 23, 2018
Accepted:
April 19,
2018
Received in revised form:
February 21,
2018
Received:
September 13,
2017
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Published by Elsevier Inc.
