Editorial: Cautious Optimism for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: What Does the Evidence Show?

For centuries, understanding the fundamental workings of the brain has been among humankind's most compelling pursuits, closely intertwined with our ongoing search for effective treatments for disorders of the mind. Central to this scientific journey has been the exploration of electrical phenomena. Luigi Galvani's landmark discovery of intrinsic "animal electricity" in frog muscles, Alessandro Volta's invention of the voltaic pile, and Giovanni Aldini's ambitious attempts to apply electric stimulation to humans in an effort to treat neuropsychiatric disorders laid foundational insights for modern neural electrophysiology.¹ Later, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, and others clarified the intricate relationship between electricity and magnetism, collectively paving the way for the development of contemporary noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques.² Today, methods such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) represent both established and emerging approaches for the treatment of several psychiatric conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).