title: Transcranial direct current stimulation improves clinical symptoms in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the prefrontal cortex has repeatedly been shown to improve working memory. As patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are characterized by both underactivation of the prefrontal cortex and deficits in working memory that correlate with clinical symptoms, it is hypothesized that the modulation of prefrontal activity with tDCS in patients with ADHD increases performance in working memory and reduces symptoms of ADHD. To test this hypothesis, fifteen adolescents with ADHD (12-16 years old, three girls and 12 boys) were treated according to the randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled, crossover design with either 1 mA anodal tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or with the sham protocol 5 days each with a 2 weeks pause between these conditions. Anodal tDCS caused a significant reduction in clinical symptoms of inattention and impulsivity in adolescents with ADHD compared to sham stimulation. The clinical effects were supported by a significant reduction in inattention and hyperactivity in a standardized working memory test (QbTest). The described effects were more pronounced 7 days after the end of stimulation, a fact which emphasizes the long-lasting clinical and neuropsychological changes after tDCS. This study provides the first evidence that tDCS may reduce symptoms of ADHD and improve neuropsychological functioning in adolescents and points on the potential of tDCS as a form of treatment for ADHD.
authors.affiliation: Department for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany.|Institute of Clinical Psychology, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soff
authors.affiliation: Department for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany.|Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Christian Albrecht University, Preußerstraße 1-9, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sotnikova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Psychology, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Christiansen
authors.affiliation: Department for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Christian Albrecht University, Preußerstraße 1-9, 24105, Kiel, Germany. siniatchkin@med-psych.uni-kiel.de.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siniatchkin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: ADHD; Transcranial direct current stimulation; Working memory