Effect of home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on cognitive functioning in bipolar depression: an open-label, single-arm acceptability and feasibility study

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Contributors

Abstract

Bipolar depression is commonly accompanied by cognitive impairments. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is emerging as a novel non-invasive treatment for bipolar depression. Given the portability and safety of tDCS, we developed a home-based protocol with real-time supervision. Our aim was to assess the cognitive effects of a course of tDCS treatment in bipolar depression. 44 participants (31 women, mean age 47.27 years, SD 12.89) with bipolar depression of at least a moderate severity received 21 sessions of home-based tDCS over 6 weeks in an open-label design. The stimulation protocol involved 2 mA in a bilateral frontal montage (F3 anode, F4 cathode) for 30 min per session. Cognitive assessments were conducted at baseline and after the course of treatment: Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) to assess verbal learning and memory and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) to assess psychomotor processing speed and visuospatial attention. 93.18% (n = 41) completed RAVLT and 59.09% of participants (n = 26) completed SDMT. A significant improvement was observed in RAVLT verbal learning score post-treatment (p = 0.002), which was not maintained following adjustment for improvement in depressive symptoms. In summary, a course of home-based tDCS in bipolar depression was associated with an improvement in verbal learning, which appeared to be related to improvement in depressive symptoms. These findings suggest potential benefits of tDCS for addressing cognitive impairments in bipolar depression, which can be investigated further in a sham-controlled design.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number11
JournalInternational journal of bipolar disorders
Volume13
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 17 Mar 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC11914700
Scopus 105000279846
ORCID /0000-0002-2666-859X/work/203814161

Keywords

Keywords

  • Neuropsychological tests, Bipolar depression, RAVLT, Transcranial direct current stimulation, SDMT, Cognitive impairment, Home-based treatment