Department of Head and Skin, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent, Belgium.
Department of Head and Skin, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Psychiatry, Brussels University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.
Clin Neurophysiol. 2021 May;132(5):1116-1125. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2021.01.025. Epub 2021 Mar 10.
Research suggests that the combination of different non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), could enhance the effects of stimulation. Studies investigating the combination of tDCS and iTBS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are lacking. In this within-subjects study, we evaluated the additive effects of iTBS with tDCS on psychophysiological measures of stress.
Sixty-eight healthy individuals were submitted to a tDCS + iTBS and tDCS + iTBS protocol targeting the DLPFC with a one-week interval. The Maastricht Acute Stress Test was used to activate the stress system after stimulation. Stress reactivity and recovery were assessed using physiological and self-report measures.
The stressor evoked significant psychophysiological changes in both stimulation conditions. However, no evidence was found for differences between them in stress reactivity and recovery. Participants reported more pain and feelings of discomfort to the tDCS + iTBS protocol.
In this study set-up, iTBS plus tDCS was not superior to iTBS in downregulating stress in healthy subjects.
There is no evidence for an effect of combined tDCS-iTBS of the DLPFC on stress according to the parameters employed in our study. Future studies should explore other stimulation parameters, additive approaches and/or neurobiological markers.
研究表明，不同的非侵入性脑刺激技术（如间歇性 theta 爆发刺激（iTBS）和经颅直流电刺激（tDCS））的组合可以增强刺激效果。目前缺乏关于 tDCS 和 iTBS 联合作用于背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）的研究。在这项单组研究中，我们评估了 iTBS 与 tDCS 联合应用于应激的生理心理测量指标的附加效应。
68 名健康个体接受了为期一周间隔的 tDCS+iTBS 和 tDCS+iTBS 方案的 DLPFC 刺激。刺激后使用马斯特里赫特急性应激测试激活应激系统。使用生理和自我报告测量来评估应激反应性和恢复情况。
应激源在两种刺激条件下都引起了显著的生理心理变化。然而，在应激反应性和恢复方面，没有证据表明它们之间存在差异。与 iTBS 相比，参与者报告了更多的疼痛和不适感tDCS+iTBS 方案。
在本研究方案中，iTBS 联合 tDCS 并没有优于 iTBS 下调健康受试者的应激反应。
根据我们研究中采用的参数，没有证据表明 DLPFC 的联合 tDCS-iTBS 对压力有影响。未来的研究应该探索其他刺激参数、附加方法和/或神经生物学标志物。
