What Do We Know about Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Major Depression?
Derrick Matthew BuchananPhilippe RobaeyAmedeo D'AngiulliPublished in: Brain sciences (2020)
The interest in using non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) for the treatment of major depression (MD), including treatment resistant depression, is growing rapidly. The paper by Bennabi and Haffen (Brain Sci. 2018, 8) was an important step towards the formal acceptance of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a possible form of therapy. Their review demonstrated favourable support for the beneficial effects of tDCS for MD, coupled with necessary practical considerations, such as its relatively low cost, portability/ease of use in clinical settings, non-invasiveness, and good tolerability. Here, we provide a follow-up to their review and sketch a current update. Means for optimizing tDCS efficacy and potential limitations of current studies are discussed.
Keyphrases
- transcranial direct current stimulation
- low cost
- working memory
- resting state
- white matter
- molecular dynamics
- functional connectivity
- depressive symptoms
- open label
- cerebral ischemia
- stem cells
- randomized controlled trial
- multiple sclerosis
- combination therapy
- mesenchymal stem cells
- replacement therapy
- blood brain barrier