Dataset Information

Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Improve Disgust Regulation Through Imagery Rescripting?

ABSTRACT: The first pilot studies have shown the potential of imagery rescripting (ImR) for reducing contamination-related pathological disgust, although the effects were rather small. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the effects of ImR in reducing disgust can be further increased by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). tDCS is a non-invasive method of brain stimulation that has been successfully used multiple times to support emotion-regulation strategies. In the present study, disgust was induced via images related to individualized sources of disgust. Fifty-eight healthy volunteers took part in two parallel experiments. The two groups were matched by age, highest educational level and gender, and were tested under two emotion-regulation conditions, namely an ImR condition and a control condition. Participants performed three trials on the first day and three trials on the second day. Across both days they performed three trials under each of the two emotion-regulation conditions in a randomized order. On one day active stimulation was applied, while on the other day participants were sham stimulated. The combination of emotion-regulation and stimulation condition was balanced across subjects. The only difference between the two groups was the localization of tDCS stimulation: one group was stimulated over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the other group was stimulated over the visual cortex (VC). This experimental manipulation was implemented to gain further insights into the underlying neuropsychological mechanisms of imagery. ImR was conducted via a previously-recorded audio file. The results confirm the effect of ImR on the reduction of disgust. However, with the present experimental design we were not able to show that supplementary tDCS of the VC or the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lead to improvement.

SUBMITTER: Fink J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6593270 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Improve Disgust Regulation Through Imagery Rescripting?

Fink Jakob J Exner Cornelia C

Frontiers in human neuroscience 20190606

The first pilot studies have shown the potential of imagery rescripting (ImR) for reducing contamination-related pathological disgust, although the effects were rather small. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the effects of ImR in reducing disgust can be further increased by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). tDCS is a non-invasive method of brain stimulation that has been successfully used multiple times to support emotion-regulation strategies. In the present ...[more]

PMID: 31275125

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Project description:Although posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; DSM-V 309.82) and anxiety disorders (DSM-V 300.xx) are widely spread mental disorders, the effectiveness of their therapy is still unsatisfying. Non-invasive brain-stimulation techniques like transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) might be an option to improve extinction learning, which is a main functional factor of exposure-based therapy for anxiety disorders. To examine this hypothesis, we used a fear conditioning paradigm with female faces as conditioned stimuli (CS) and a 95-dB female scream as unconditioned stimulus (UCS). We aimed to perform a tDCS of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), which is mainly involved in the control of extinction-processes. Therefore, we applied two 4 × 4 cm electrodes approximately at the EEG-positions F7 and F8 and used a direct current of 1.5 mA. The 20-min stimulation was started during a 10-min break between acquisition and extinction and went on overall extinction-trials. The healthy participants were randomly assigned in two double-blinded process into two sham stimulation and two verum stimulation groups with opposite current flow directions. To measure the fear reactions, we used skin conductance responses (SCR) and subjective ratings. We performed a generalized estimating equations model for the SCR to assess the impact of tDCS and current flow direction on extinction processes for all subjects that showed a successful conditioning (N = 84). The results indicate that tDCS accelerates early extinction processes with a significantly faster loss of CS+/CS- discrimination. The discrimination loss was driven by a significant decrease in reaction toward the CS+ as well as an increase in reaction toward the CS- in the tDCS verum groups, whereas the sham groups showed no significant reaction changes during this period. Therefore, we assume that tDCS of the vmPFC can be used to enhance early extinction processes successfully. But before it should be tested in a clinical context further investigation is needed to assess the reason for the reaction increase on CS-. If this negative side effect can be avoided, tDCS may be a tool to improve exposure-based anxiety therapies.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that has been shown to improve common symptoms of neurological disorders like depressed mood, fatigue, motor deficits and cognitive dysfunction. tDCS requires daily treatment sessions in order to be effective. We developed a remotely supervised tDCS (RS-tDCS) protocol for participants with multiple sclerosis (MS) to increase accessibility of tDCS, reducing clinician, patient, and caregiver burden. The goal of this protocol is to facilitate home use for larger trials with extended treatment periods. In this study we determine the generalizability of RS-tDCS paired with cognitive training (CT) by testing its feasibility in participants with Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS:Following the methods in our MS protocol development, we enrolled sixteen participants (n =?12 male, n =?4 female; mean age 66?years) with PD to complete ten open-label sessions of RS-tDCS paired with CT (2.0?mA?×?20?min) at home under the remote supervision of a trained study technician. Tolerability data were collected before, during, and after each individual session. Baseline and follow-up measures included symptom inventories (fatigue and sleep) and cognitive assessments. RESULTS:RS-tDCS was feasible and tolerable for patients with PD, with at-home access leading to high protocol compliance. Side effects were mostly limited to mild sensations of transient itching and burning under the electrode sites. Similar to prior finding sin MS, we found preliminary efficacy for improvement of fatigue and cognitive processing speed in PD. CONCLUSIONS:RS-tDCS paired with CT is feasible for participants with PD to receive at home treatment. Signals of benefit for reduced fatigue and improved cognitive processing speed are consistent across the PD and MS samples. RS-tDCS can be generalized to provide tDCS to a range of patients with neurologic disorders for at-home rehabilitation. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02746705 . Registered April 21st 2016.

Dataset Information

Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Improve Disgust Regulation Through Imagery Rescripting?

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Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Improve Disgust Regulation Through Imagery Rescripting?

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