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Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on in-vivo assessed neuro-metabolites through magnetic resonance spectroscopy: a systematic review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2021

Harleen Chhabra Open the ORCID record for Harleen Chhabra [Opens in a new window] ,
Vani Holebasavanahalli Thimmashetty ,
Venkataram Shivakumar ,
Ganesan Venkatasubramanian  and
Janardhanan C. Narayanswamy Open the ORCID record for Janardhanan C. Narayanswamy [Opens in a new window]
Harleen Chhabra*
Affiliation:
Center for Psychophysics, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India
Vani Holebasavanahalli Thimmashetty
Affiliation:
Center for Psychophysics, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India
Venkataram Shivakumar
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India
Ganesan Venkatasubramanian
Affiliation:
Center for Psychophysics, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India
Janardhanan C. Narayanswamy
Affiliation:
Center for Psychophysics, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India
*
Author for correspondence: Dr. Harleen Chhabra, Email: harleenchhbr1@gmail.com
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Abstract

Objectives:

Previous studies have examined the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the in-vivo concentrations of neuro-metabolites assessed through magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in neurological and psychiatry disorders. This review aims to systematically evaluate the data on the effect of tDCS on MRS findings and thereby attempt to understand the potential mechanism of tDCS on neuro-metabolites.

Methods:

The relevant literature was obtained through PubMed and cross-reference (search till June 2020). Thirty-four studies were reviewed, of which 22 reported results from healthy controls and 12 were from patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Results:

The evidence converges to highlight that tDCS modulates the neuro-metabolite levels at the site of stimulation, which, in turn, translates into alterations in the behavioural outcome. It also shows that the baseline level of these neuro-metabolites can, to a certain extent, predict the outcome after tDCS. However, even though tDCS has shown promising effects in alleviating symptoms of various psychiatric disorders, there are limited studies that have reported the effect of tDCS on neuro-metabolite levels.

Conclusions:

There is a compelling need for more systematic studies examining patients with psychiatric/neurological disorders with larger samples and harmonised tDCS protocols. More studies will potentially help us to understand the tDCS mechanism of action pertinent to neuro-metabolite levels modulation. Further, studies should be conducted in psychiatric patients to understand the neurological changes in this population and potentially unravel the neuro-metabolite × tDCS interaction effect that can be translated into individualised treatment.

Keywords

non-invasive brain stimulationtDCSMRSneuro-metabolites
Type
Review Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 33 , Issue 5 , October 2021 , pp. 242 - 253
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology

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Footnotes

*

These authors have made equal contributions to the paper.

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