Articolo in rivista, 2022, ENG, 10.3390/biomedicines10071681

Simultaneous Bilateral Frontal and Bilateral Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Treatment-Resistant Depression--Clinical Effects and Electrical Field Modelling of a Novel Electrodes Montage

D'Urso G.; Dini M.; Bonato M.; Gallucci S.; Parazzini M.; Maiorana N.; Bortolomasi M.; Priori A.; Ferrucci R.

Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, 80131, Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, 80131, Italy, , Italy; Aldo Ravelli Research Center, Department of Health Science, University of Milan, Milan, 20142, Aldo Ravelli Research Center, Department of Health Science, University of Milan, Milan, 20142, Italy, , Italy; Institute of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering (IEIIT), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Milan, 20133, Institute of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering (IEIIT), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Milan, 20133, Italy, , Italy; Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB), Polytechnic University of Milan, Milan, 20133, Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB), Polytechnic University of Milan, Milan, 20133, Italy, , Italy; Psychiatric Hospital "Villa Santa Chiara", Verona, 37142, Psychiatric Hospital "Villa Santa Chiara", Verona, 37142, Italy, , Italy; ASST-Santi Paolo e Carlo, Neurology Unit, Milan, 20142, ASST-Santi Paolo e Carlo, Neurology Unit, Milan, 20142, Italy, , Italy

Depressive disorders are one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe, simple, non-invasive brain stimulation technique showing considerable effectiveness in improving depressive symptoms. Most studies to date have applied anodal tDCS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), in line with the hypothesis that depressed patients exhibit relative hypoactivity in the left DLPFC compared to the right. Considering the emerging role of the cerebellum in emotional processes, we aimed to study the effect of combining bilateral cerebellar tDCS with the commonly used bifrontal stimulation in patients with severe depression. This open-label pilot study entailed the simultaneous administration of bilateral cerebellar (anode over the left cerebellum, cathode over the right cerebellum) and bilateral frontal (anode over the left DLPFC, cathode over the right DLPFC) tDCS to patients (N = 12) with treatment-resistant depression. The 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Beck's Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) were selected as outcome measures. Electric fields distribution originating from this novel electrode montage was obtained by a computational method applied to a realistic human head model. We observed a 30% reduction of both clinician-rated and self-reported severity of depressive symptoms after only five days (10 sessions) of treatment. Younger age was associated with greater clinical improvement. Adverse events were similar to those of the conventional electrodes montage. The modelling studies demonstrated that the electric fields generated by each pair of electrodes are primarily distributed in the cortical areas under the electrodes. In conclusion, the cerebellum could represent a promising adjunctive target for tDCS interventions in patients with TRD, particularly for younger patients.

Biomedicines 10

Keywords

cerebellum;, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS);, treatment resistant depression (TRD)

CNR authors

Bonato Marta, Gallucci Silvia, Parazzini Marta

CNR institutes

IEIIT – Istituto di elettronica e di ingegneria dell'informazione e delle telecomunicazioni

ID: 472847

Year: 2022

Type: Articolo in rivista

Creation: 2022-11-07 14:01:42.000

Last update: 2023-04-13 14:53:22.000

External IDs

CNR OAI-PMH: oai:it.cnr:prodotti:472847

DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10071681

Scopus: 2-s2.0-85136396665