Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) lab, Ghent, Belgium.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2019 Aug;13(4):1060-1070. doi: 10.1007/s11682-018-9927-8.
The mechanisms by which transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) influences emotional processing - and whether this is related to individual vulnerability for psychopathology - are still poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate if one prefrontal tDCS session modulates mood and neural functional connectivity after being exposed to negative information differently in individuals low or high in perceived criticism (PC), which has been related to vulnerability for psychiatric illness. In a randomized cross-over design, one session of MRI-compatible prefrontal tDCS (neuronavigated placement of the anodal electrode at the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the cathodal electrode at the right supraorbital region; vs. sham) was administered to healthy females, prior to listening to self-referential criticism. PC-dependent (low vs. high PC) changes in mood and resting-state functional connectivity patterns following tDCS and after hearing criticism were explored. After being criticized all females (low and high PC) felt angrier and more depressed, both in the active tDCS or sham tDCS condition. However, in contrast to low PC females, in high PC females prefrontal tDCS reduced connectivity between the left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex following criticism. Despite having no differential effects on self-reported mood, prefrontal tDCS reduces medial prefrontal neural connectivity after being criticized in high PC females compared to low PC females. Depending on individual vulnerability for psychopathology, a single tDCS session differentially affects neural processing of negative emotional information, especially in brain regions involved in monitoring, experiencing and appraising/evaluating emotional material.
经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）影响情绪处理的机制 - 以及这是否与精神病理学的个体易感性有关 - 仍知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨在经历负面信息时，接受一次前额叶 tDCS 是否会以不同的方式调节情绪和神经功能连接，这与精神疾病的易感性有关。在随机交叉设计中，在健康女性听自我参照批评之前，给予一次 MRI 兼容的前额叶 tDCS（在左背外侧前额叶皮层放置阳极电极，在右眶上区域放置阴极电极；与假刺激相比）。探讨 tDCS 后和听到批评后，基于感知批评（PC）的（低 PC 与高 PC）的情绪和静息状态功能连接模式的变化。在受到批评后，所有女性（低 PC 和高 PC）在活动 tDCS 或假 tDCS 条件下都感到更生气和更沮丧。然而，与低 PC 女性相比，在高 PC 女性中，前额叶 tDCS 在受到批评后减少了左背前扣带回皮质和右背内侧前额叶皮质之间的连接。尽管对自我报告的情绪没有差异影响，但与低 PC 女性相比，在前额叶 tDCS 后，高 PC 女性在受到批评后，中前额叶神经连接减少。根据精神病理学的个体易感性，单次 tDCS 会以不同的方式影响负面情绪信息的神经处理，尤其是在涉及监测、体验和评估/评估情绪材料的大脑区域。
