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  • Editorial   
  • Psychol Psychiatry, Vol 1(1)

Transcranial Electric Stimulation in Psychology and Psychiatry: A Tendency

Andrés Molero-Chamizo1* and G Nathzidy Rivera-Urbina2
1Department of Psychology, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain
2Autonomous University of Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
*Corresponding Author: Andrés Molero-Chamizo, Department of Psychology, University of Huelva, Campus El Carmen, 21071 Huelva, Spain, Tel: (34)959218478, Email: andres.molero@dpsi.uhu.es

Received: 13-Oct-2017 / Accepted Date: 14-Oct-2017 / Published Date: 20-Oct-2017

Editorial

At the end of the last century and beginning of the present, the application in humans of transcranial electric stimulation (tES), particularly transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), through procedures and protocols similar to those of today, was mainly oriented to the study of the motor system [1-4]. Since then, however, there has been a clear tendency to extend the use of this non-invasive brain stimulation tool to the study of many other brain functions [5]. It has also dramatically increased the number of scientific publications on the use of tDCS and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) in Psychology and Psychiatry [6], as well as in other clinical settings [7], including paediatrics [8].

Although the most evident effects of the application of tES are still observed in motor system research, both moderate and notable behavioral and cognitive effects have also been described with different montages and protocols of tDCS and tACS. Under stimulation parameters in the range of 1-2 mA of intensity, using the most usual electrodes sizes (5 × 5 cm and 7 × 5 cm) and with durations of stimulation between 10 and 30 min, there are multiple reports on the effectiveness of tDCS to modify different cognitive and brain functions, particularly after multiple or repetitive sessions. Attentional and perceptive processes, language, memory, executive functions, motor learning, and emotion are some examples of neuropsychological and cognitive processes consistently improved or modified after application of tDCS [9]. In the context of brain pathologies or psychiatry, the results of clinical and experimental studies are even more promising. Positive effects of different procedures of tES have been found in depression and other mood disorders, autism, stroke and motor rehabilitation and/or neglect, cerebral palsy and dystonia, refractory epilepsy, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, phantom limb pain, multiple sclerosis, language and neuropsychological rehabilitation, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), tinnitus treatment, psychosis, motor control in Parkinson disease, disorders of consciousness, drug dependence, and some others disorders or pathologies, various of them both in adults [5] and children [8,10,11]. Besides, the safety of these techniques and the minimum adverse effects that are reported in clinical and basic research, encourage their use in multiple health and disease conditions [7].

This tendency to discover all the potential of tECS to induce improvements in normal and altered brain functions continues growing, and future studies could reveal further applications and utilities of these non-invasive brain stimulation techniques for therapeutic purposes and for cognitive augmentation.

References

  1. Rothwell JC (1991) Physiological studies of electric and magnetic stimulation of the human brain. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol Suppl 43: 29-35.
  2. Rothwell JC, Thompson PD, Day BL, Boyd S, Marsden CD (1991) Stimulation of the human motor cortex through the scalp. Exp Physiol 76: 159-200.
  3. Nitsche MA, Paulus W (2000) Excitability changes induced in the human motor cortex by weak transcranial direct current stimulation. J Physiol 527: 633-639.
  4. Nitsche MA, Paulus W (2001) Sustained excitability elevations induced by transcranial DC motor cortex stimulation in humans. Neurology 57: 1899-1901.
  5. Yavari F, Jamil A, Mosayebi SM, Vidor LP, Nitsche MA (2017) Basic and functional effects of transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES)-An introduction. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 17: 30092-1.
  6. Kuo MF, Chen PS, Nitsche MA (2017) The application of tDCS for the treatment of psychiatric diseases. International Review of Psychiatry 29: 146-167.
  7. Lefaucheur JP, Antal A, Ayache SS, Benninger DH, Brunelin J, et al. (2017) Evidence-based guidelines on the therapeutic use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Clin Neurophysiol 128: 56-92.
  8. Rivera-Urbina GN, Nitsche MA, Vicario CM, Molero-Chamizo A (2017) Applications of transcranial direct current stimulation in children and pediatrics. Rev Neurosci 28: 173-184.
  9. Chrysikou EG, Berryhill ME, Bikson M, Coslett HB (2017) Editorial: Revisiting the Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Brain Stimulation for Cognition: Evidence, Challenges, and Open Questions. Front Hum Neurosci 11: 448.
  10. Vicario CM, Nitsche MA (2013) Non-invasive brain stimulation for the treatment of brain diseases in childhood and adolescence: state of the art, current limits and future challenges. Front Syst Neurosci 7: 94.
  11. Vicario CM, Nitsche MA (2013) Transcranial direct current stimulation: a remediation tool for the treatment of childhood congenital dyslexia? Front Hum Neurosci 7: 139.

Citation: Molero-Chamizo A, Rivera-Urbina GN (2017) Transcranial Electric Stimulation in Psychology and Psychiatry: A Tendency. Psychol Psychiatry 1: e101.

Copyright: © 2017 Molero-Chamizo A, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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