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Transcranial direct current stimulation for empathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Anees Bahji1, Evan Forth2, Cheng-Chang Yang3
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Social Neuroscience
|February 11, 2021
Summary
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) may enhance cognitive empathy in healthy adults. However, more research is needed to determine if these tDCS effects translate to meaningful clinical improvements in empathy.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Empathy modulation is a target for therapeutic interventions.
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique explored for cognitive enhancement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and meta-analyze the efficacy of tDCS in modulating empathy.
- To assess the impact of anodal or cathodal tDCS compared to sham stimulation on empathy measures.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
- Inclusion of studies on healthy adults and clinical populations using tDCS for empathy.
- Random-effects modeling to pool standardized mean differences (Hedge's g) for reaction time and accuracy.
Main Results:
- Anodal tDCS demonstrated improvements in computerized measures of cognitive empathy in healthy adults.
- Evidence suggests potential benefits for empathy-related tasks, particularly in nonclinical populations.
Conclusions:
- tDCS, specifically anodal stimulation, shows promise for enhancing cognitive empathy in healthy individuals.
- Further investigation is warranted to explore tDCS efficacy in clinical populations and its potential for meaningful clinical improvements.
