Schizophrenia bulletin
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Schizophrenia bulletin · Sep 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialPrefrontal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Treatment of Schizophrenia With Predominant Negative Symptoms: A Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Proof-of-Concept Study.
Negative symptoms are highly relevant in the long-term course of schizophrenia and are an important target domain for the development of novel interventions. Recently, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the prefrontal cortex has been investigated as a treatment option in schizophrenia. In this proof-of-concept study, 20 schizophrenia patients with predominantly negative symptoms were randomized to either 10 sessions of add-on active (2 mA, 20min) or sham tDCS (anode: left DLPFC/F3; cathode: right supraorbital/F4). ⋯ Explorative analysis of fcMRI data indicated changes in subgenual cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) connectivity within frontal-thalamic-temporo-parietal networks. The results of this first proof-of-concept study indicate that prefrontal tDCS may be a promising intervention for treatment of schizophrenia with predominant negative symptoms. Large-scale randomized controlled studies are needed to further establish prefrontal tDCS as novel treatment for negative symptoms in schizophrenia.