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Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Online Gamers
Published on: November 9, 2019
Transcranial direct current stimulation in inflammatory bowel disease patients modifies resting-state functional
Lars Neeb1, Arian Bayer2, Kian-Elias Bayer2
1Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Background:
Chronic pain is known to be associated with functional and structural changes in the brain. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) presents with chronic abdominal pain in almost 35% of all patients. This study investigates structural and functional changes in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to ameliorate pain in IBD.
Methods:
This phase-III, placebo-controlled, randomized study included 36 patients with IBD and chronic pain. MRI scans were performed before and following tDCS, which was applied for 5 days.
Results/Conclusion:
For the first time, this study revealed an association of changes in resting-state functional MRI and pain reduction in IBD. There was a significant increase in functional connectivity after active tDCS within the visual medial and the right frontoparietal network being connected with the amygdala, the insula, and the primary somatosensory cortex indicating central pain mechanisms in IBD. Moreover, tDCS offers a novel therapeutic strategy for abdominal pain.
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