Brain Stimulation in Psychiatric Disorders

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychiatric Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 7711

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Unit of Psychiatry and Psychology, Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Science and Odontostomatology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Interests: psychiatry; brain stimulation; neuroscience; mood disorders; obsessive-compulsive disorder; autism spectrum disorder; transcranial magnetic stimulation; transcranial direct current stimulation; electroconvulsive therapy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, brain stimulation has received increased attention from many scholars as a potential treatment for psychiatric disorders. It encompasses a growing group of neuromodulation techniques that can provide therapeutic effects via electrical current or magnetic fields applied to the brain and inducing short-term neural excitation or inhibition as well as long-term changes in synaptic activity. In several mental disorders, including depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and addiction, brain stimulation techniques have already been successfully employed to alleviate psychiatric symptoms. Research in this field is rapidly expanding, due to increasing evidence on the efficacy and safety of these techniques, used alone or in combination with other more consolidated treatment modalities, including pharmacological, psychological and (re)habilitative interventions.

The aim of the current Special Issue is to present recent findings within this broad field of research, and to provide new mechanistic insights on how brain stimulation techniques can be used in psychiatry. Thus, this Special Issue invites original manuscripts involving brain stimulation methods and psychiatric disorders.

Authors are invited to submit original research articles, as well as review papers.

Dr. Giordano D'Urso
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • psychiatric disorders
  • noninvasive brain stimulation
  • transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
  • transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1364 KiB  
Article
Pilot-RCT Finds No Evidence for Modulation of Neuronal Networks of Auditory Hallucinations by Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
by Lynn Marquardt, Alexander R. Craven, Kenneth Hugdahl, Erik Johnsen, Rune Andreas Kroken, Isabella Kusztrits, Karsten Specht, Anne Synnøve Thomassen, Sarah Weber and Marco Hirnstein
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(10), 1382; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12101382 - 12 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1870
Abstract
Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is used as treatment for auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). The theory behind the treatment is that tDCS increases activity in prefrontal cognitive control areas, which are assumed to be hypoactive, and simultaneously decreases activity in temporal [...] Read more.
Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is used as treatment for auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). The theory behind the treatment is that tDCS increases activity in prefrontal cognitive control areas, which are assumed to be hypoactive, and simultaneously decreases activity in temporal speech perception areas, which are assumed to be hyperactive during AVH. We tested this hypofrontal/hypertemporal reversal theory by investigating anatomical, neurotransmitter, brain activity, and network connectivity changes over the course of tDCS treatment. Methods: A double-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted with 21 patients receiving either sham or real tDCS treatment (2 mA) twice daily for 5 days. The anode was placed over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the cathode over the left temporo-parietal cortex (TPC). Multimodal neuroimaging as well as clinical and neurocognitive functioning assessment were performed before, immediately after, and three months after treatment. Results: We found a small reduction in AVH severity in the real tDCS group, but no corresponding neuroimaging changes in either DLPFCD or TPC. Limitations: The study has a small sample size. Conclusion: The results suggest that the currently leading theory behind tDCS treatment of AVH may need to be revised, if confirmed by studies with larger N. Tentative findings point to the involvement of Broca’s area as a critical structure for tDCS treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Stimulation in Psychiatric Disorders)
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11 pages, 1006 KiB  
Article
Potential Targets for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation on Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder
by Sisi Zheng, Nan Song, Sici Wang, Yanzhe Ning, Hong Zhu, Mingkang Song, Yuan Jia and Hongxiao Jia
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(8), 1112; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12081112 - 21 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3724
Abstract
Introduction: Non-invasive brain stimulation seems to be beneficial for DPD patients. However, the sites used in previous studies were empirical. Exploring new stimulation locations via functional magnetic resonance imaging may improve the efficacy. Objectives: The objective was to find potential locations for non-invasive [...] Read more.
Introduction: Non-invasive brain stimulation seems to be beneficial for DPD patients. However, the sites used in previous studies were empirical. Exploring new stimulation locations via functional magnetic resonance imaging may improve the efficacy. Objectives: The objective was to find potential locations for non-invasive brain stimulation on the depersonalization-derealization disorder. Methods: We explored the potential brain surface regions from three pipelines: pipeline 1: activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis (five studies with 36 foci included); pipeline 2: functional connectivity analysis based on DPD-network (76 subjects included); and pipeline 3: functional connectivity analysis based on DPD regions of interest from the meta-analysis. Potential targets were the 10–20 system coordinates for brain surface regions. Results: We identified several potential brain surface regions, including the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, superior parietal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex as potential sites. Conclusion: Our findings of the potential stimulation targets might help clinicians optimize the application of non-invasive brain stimulation therapy in individuals with DPD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Stimulation in Psychiatric Disorders)
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15 pages, 1413 KiB  
Article
Stereotactic Surgery for Treating Intractable Tourette Syndrome: A Single-Center Pilot Study
by Xin Wang, Liang Qu, Shunnan Ge, Nan Li, Jing Wang, Chun Qiu, Huijuan Kou, Jiaming Li, Jiangpeng Jing, Mingming Su, Zhaohui Zheng, Yang Li, Yan Qu and Xuelian Wang
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(7), 838; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12070838 - 28 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1692
Abstract
To evaluate the potential effect of radiofrequency ablation and deep brain stimulation in patients with treatment-refractory Tourette syndrome (TS), this study enrolled thirteen patients with TS who were admitted to our hospital between August 2002 and September 2018. Four patients received a single- [...] Read more.
To evaluate the potential effect of radiofrequency ablation and deep brain stimulation in patients with treatment-refractory Tourette syndrome (TS), this study enrolled thirteen patients with TS who were admitted to our hospital between August 2002 and September 2018. Four patients received a single- or multi-target radiofrequency ablation after local, potentiated, or general anesthesia; eight patients underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery; and one patient underwent both ablation and DBS surgery. The severity of tics and obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms and the quality of life were evaluated using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), and Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome Quality of Life scale (GTS-QOL), respectively, before surgery, one month after surgery, and at the final follow-up after surgery, which was conducted in December 2018. A paired-sample t test and a multiple linear regression analysis were performed to analyze the data. All patients underwent the operation successfully without any severe complications. Overall, the YGTSS total scores at one month post-surgery (44.1 ± 22.3) and at the final visit (35.1 ± 23.7) were significantly decreased compared with those at baseline (75.1 ± 6.2; both p < 0.05). Additionally, the YBOCS scores at one month post-surgery (16.5 ± 10.1) and at the final visit (12.0 ± 9.5) were significantly decreased compared with those at baseline (22.5 ± 13.1; both p < 0.05). Furthermore, the GTS-QOL scores at one month post-surgery (44.0 ± 12.8) and at the final visit (31.0 ± 17.8) were significantly decreased compared with those at baseline (58.4 ± 14.2; both p < 0.05). Results from a multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the improvement in the YGTSS total score was independently associated with the improvement in the GTS-QOL score at one month post-surgery (standardized β = 0.716, p = 0.023) and at the final visit (standardized β = 1.064, p = 0.000). Conversely, changes in YBOCS scores did not correlate with changes in GTS-QOL scores (p > 0.05). Our results demonstrate that tics, psychiatric symptoms, and the quality of life in patients with intractable TS may be relieved by stereotactic ablation surgery and deep brain stimulation. Furthermore, it appears that the improvement in tics contributes more to the post-operative quality of life of patients than does the improvement in obsessive compulsive symptoms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Stimulation in Psychiatric Disorders)
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