Anodal HD-tDCS on the dominant anterior temporal lobe and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: clinical results in patients with mild cognitive impairment

Rezakhani, S.; Amiri, M.; Hassani, A.; Esmaeilpour, K.; Sheibani, V.

Abstract:

Objectives Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a neurocognitive disorder in which the cognitive and mental abilities of humans are declined. Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) is an emerging noninvasive brain stimulation technique aimed at neuromodulation. In this study, we investigate whether high-definition anodal tDCS stimulation (anodal HD-tDCS) in MCI patients in two different brain regions will be effective in improving cognitive function. Methods This study was done as a randomized, double-blind clinical trial. Sixty MCI patients (clinically diagnosed by expert neurologists) were randomly divided into three groups. Two groups received 2-mA anodal HD-tDCS for 20 min for 2 weeks (5 consecutive days in each week, 10 days in total). In the first group (twenty patients), the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (left DLPFC) was targeted. In the second group (twenty patients), the target zone was the dominant anterior temporal lobe (DATL). The third group (twenty patients) formed the Sham group. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease (QoLAD) were considered as the outcome measures. Results MCI patients obtained the highest MoCA mean scores in both left DLPFC and DATL groups versus the study baseline 2 weeks after the intervention. In addition, the MoCA mean scores of MCI patients were greater in both intervention groups compared to the Sham group up to 3 months post-stimulation (p-value ≤ 0.05). However, as we moved away from the first stimulation day, a decreasing trend in the MoCA mean scores was observed. Moreover, in the left DLPFC and DATL groups, higher QoLAD mean scores were observed 3-month post-stimulation, highlighting the effectiveness of anodal HD-tDCS in improving the quality of life in MCI patients. Conclusion In this research, it was shown that applying anodal HD-tDCS at left DLPFC and DATL brain regains for two successive weeks improves cognitive function in MCI patients (by obtaining higher values of MoCA scores) up to 3 months after the intervention compared to the Sham group. This illustrates the positive effects of HD-tDCS, as a non-pharmacological intervention, for improving cognitive function and quality of life in MCI patients. Significance Two weeks after anodal HD-tDCS of the DLPFC and DATL brain regions, the MCI patients achieved the highest MoCA mean scores compared to the Sham group across all measurement intervals.

Patologie/Applicazioni:

• Riabilitazione cognitiva
• Stimolazione elettrica transcranica (TES)
• Alzheimer

Anno:

2024

Tipo di pubblicazione:

Articolo

Testata scientifica:

BMC - Springer nature

Mese:

02

Nota:

Questo studio clinico randomizzato in doppio cieco analizza la stimolazione transcranica anodica ad alta definizione a corrente continua (HD-tDCS), focalizzandosi sull’efficacia nel migliorare la funzione cognitiva nei pazienti con decadimento cognitivo lieve (MCI). Sessanta pazienti con MCI sono stati divisi in tre gruppi, due dei quali hanno ricevuto per due settimane HD-tDCS anodiche da 2 mA erogate da uno stimolatore Starstim8 per 20 minuti in due diverse regioni cerebrali (DLPFC sinistra e DATL); il terzo gruppo è stato trattato con una procedura simulata (Sham). I risultati hanno mostrato un miglioramento significativo nei punteggi medi del test MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) nei gruppi che hanno ricevuto la stimolazione rispetto al gruppo Sham, mostrando risultati lievemente migliori per la stimolazione della DLPFC sinistra fino a tre mesi dopo il trattamento. Inoltre, è stato osservato un incremento dei punteggi medi della qualità della vita nei pazienti trattati con HD-tDCS. Questi risultati suggeriscono che la stimolazione HD-tDCS può avere effetti positivi nel migliorare la funzione cognitiva e la qualità della vita nei pazienti affetti da MCI.

DOI:

10.1186/s13195-023-01370-y