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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Imaging and Stimulation
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1458295
This article is part of the Research Topic Non-invasive brain stimulation for chronic pain management View all articles

Cognitive potency and safety of tDCS treatment for major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Hong Li Hong Li 1*Junjie Wang Junjie Wang 2Yuqi Ji Yuqi Ji 1Xinru Yao Xinru Yao 3
  • 1 First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
  • 2 Capital Normal University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 3 University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background. The benefits of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for patients with major depression disorders are well established, however, there is a notable research gap concerning its comprehensive effects on both depressive symptoms and cognitive functions. Existing research is inconclusive regarding the cognitive enhancement effects of tDCS specifically in MDD patients. The present study aims to fill this knowledge gap by scrutinizing the most updated evidence on the effectiveness of tDCS in anti-depressive treatment and its influence on cognitive function.A systematic review was performed from the first date available in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and additional sources published in English from 1 January 2001 to 31 May 2023. We examined cognitive outcomes from randomised, sham-controlled trials of tDCS treatment for major depression. The evaluation process strictly followed the Cochrane bias risk assessment tool into the literature, and meta-analysis was performed according to the Cochrane System Reviewer's Manual.Results. In this quantitative synthesis, we incorporated data from a total of 371 patients across 12 studies. Results showed significant benefits following active tDCS compared to sham for the antidepressant effect (SMD: -0.77 [-1.44, -0.11]).Furthermore, active relative to sham tDCS treatment was associated with increased performance gains on a measure of verbal memory (SMD: 0.30 [-0.02, 0.62]). These results did not indicate any cognitive enhancement after active tDCS relative to sham for global cognitive function, whereas there was a noticeable trend towards statistical significance specifically in the effect of verbal memory.Our study offers crucial evidence-based medical support for tDCS in antidepressant and dimension-specific cognitive benefits. Further well-designed, large-scale randomized sham-controlled trials are warranted to further validate these findings.

    Keywords: transcranial direct current stimulation, Depression, Treatment, Cognition, Meta- analysis

    Received: 02 Jul 2024; Accepted: 28 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Wang, Ji and Yao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hong Li, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.