Transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder: A randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Neuromodulation

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe mental health condition with limited treatment options.
• Neuroimaging reveals dysfunction in the orbito-fronto-striatal-pallidal-thalamic network in OCD patients.
• Treatment-resistant OCD necessitates novel therapeutic approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy and safety of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for treatment-resistant OCD.
• To investigate the acute and long-lasting effects of tDCS on OCD symptoms.
• To assess tDCS with specific electrode placements: cathode over the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and anode over the right cerebellum.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind study involving 21 OCD patients.
• Ten 20-minute tDCS sessions (two per day) of either active (2mA) or sham stimulation.
• Symptom assessment using the Yale-Brown Obsessive and Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) immediately after treatment and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups.

Main Results:

• Active tDCS significantly reduced OCD symptoms immediately after the 10 sessions compared to sham tDCS (p=0.03).
• No significant differences in YBOCS scores or responder rates were found between active and sham groups at 1- and 3-month follow-ups.
• The observed acute effects did not translate into sustained symptom improvement.

Conclusions:

• tDCS applied to the left OFC and right cerebellum demonstrated acute efficacy in reducing OCD symptoms.
• The treatment did not yield statistically significant long-lasting reductions in symptoms for patients with treatment-resistant OCD.
• Further research may be needed to optimize tDCS parameters or identify patient subgroups who benefit from this neuromodulation technique.