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Updated: May 13, 2026
Simultaneous EEG Monitoring During Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Published on: June 17, 2013
Effects of fronto-occipital transcranial alternating current stimulation for treating schizophrenia with prominent
Guanfu Wu1, Mengting Shen1, Yuhao Lin1
1Neuroimaging Core, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Background:
Developing novel technologies to effectively alleviate negative symptoms of schizophrenia remains challenging. While non-invasive brain stimulation targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has shown potential, its outcomes have been inconsistent. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), which modulates specific frequency synchronization across long-range brain networks, offers new insights into optimizing the therapeutic efficacy for negative symptoms.
Objective:
To examine the efficacy and safety of a 7 Hz, right DLPFC-occipital tACS protocol for negative symptoms.
Methods:
Sixty schizophrenia patients with prominent negative symptoms were randomized to receive 10 sessions of active or sham tACS. The primary outcome was reduction rate of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) negative subscale. Secondary outcomes included changes in Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) scores and other PANSS scores. General linear mixed model analysis of covariance was used for an intent-to-treat sample.
Results:
No significant interaction between group and time of assessment was found for the PANSS negative subscale (F = 0.614, p = 0.543). Only SANS Anhedonia-Asociality showed a significant interaction between group and time (F = 4.596, p = 0.012), whereas all other secondary outcomes showed no significant interaction. In the active tACS group, significant interactions between time and illness duration were observed for SANS Affective Flattening scores (F = 3.689, p = 0.020) and PANSS negative subscale (F = 3.868, p = 0.024).
Conclusion:
The application of 7 Hz, fronto-occipital tACS did not yield significant immediate or short-term effects in alleviating negative symptoms, suggesting that stimulation parameters require further optimization.
