Brain Sci. 2018, 8(5), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci8050081
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): A Promising Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder?
Department of Clinical Psychiatry, CIC-1431 INSERM, CHU de Besançon, EA Neurosciences, University Bourgogne Franche-Comte, FondaMental Foundation, 94000 Creteil, France
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 7 March 2018 / Revised: 19 April 2018 / Accepted: 3 May 2018 / Published: 6 May 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Research in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Major Depression)
Abstract
Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) opens new perspectives in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), because of its ability to modulate cortical excitability and induce long-lasting effects. The aim of this review is to summarize the current status of knowledge regarding tDCS application in MDD. Methods: In this review, we searched for articles published in PubMed/MEDLINE from the earliest available date to February 2018 that explored clinical and cognitive effects of tDCS in MDD. Results: Despite differences in design and stimulation parameters, the examined studies indicated beneficial effects of tDCS for MDD. These preliminary results, the non-invasiveness of tDCS, and its good tolerability support the need for further research on this technique. Conclusions: tDCS constitutes a promising therapeutic alternative for patients with MDD, but its place in the therapeutic armamentarium remains to be determined. View Full-Text
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
Bennabi, D.; Haffen, E. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): A Promising Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder? Brain Sci. 2018, 8, 81.
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
Brain Sci.
EISSN 2076-3425
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert