Center of Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, Psychology and Center of Neuroscience, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
J Psychiatr Res. 2022 Jul;151:291-298. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.04.036. Epub 2022 Apr 29.
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe neurodevelopmental spectrum disorder with significant consequences for the individual who is diagnosed and their family, resulting in notable system-level costs associated with the current methods of treatment. With a complex etiology, this syndrome continues to evade our thorough understanding and invites cautious analysis into how the newest research findings may translate into meaningful interventions. Recent explorations of non-invasive interventions in psychiatry suggest that transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a safe and potentially promising add-on to the current SZ treatment.
We performed a systematic literature search for tACS studies on SZ in three databases - Embase, Pubmed and Medline. The search yielded 29 titles and abstracts, of which 8 met the criteria for inclusion: experimental use of tACS on patients with SZ.
We found 8 publications where findings from tACS were applied on participants with SZ. The most common frequencies used were theta (4.5 Hertz [Hz] and 6 Hz), alpha (10 Hz) and gamma (40 Hz). The main findings resulting from tACS delivery were: (1) decrease in auditory hallucinations; (2) decrease in negative symptoms; (3) cognitive improvement; and, (4) no change.
This scoping review provides a highlight of current protocols used in tACS studies on SZ, their main findings and limitations, and points towards a direction for new approaches. The wide variety of objectives, protocols and assessments used by researchers demonstrates the diversified nature of research currently used in this field, suggesting the need for a more thorough exploration as results continue to emerge.
精神分裂症（SZ）是一种严重的神经发育障碍，对被诊断出患有该病的个体及其家庭有重大影响，导致与当前治疗方法相关的显著系统水平成本。由于其病因复杂，该综合征仍然难以被我们充分理解，需要谨慎分析最新研究结果如何转化为有意义的干预措施。最近对精神病学非侵入性干预的探索表明，经颅交流电刺激（tACS）是当前 SZ 治疗的一种安全且有潜力的附加治疗方法。
我们在 Embase、Pubmed 和 Medline 三个数据库中对 SZ 的 tACS 研究进行了系统文献检索。搜索共产生了 29 个标题和摘要，其中 8 个符合纳入标准：tACS 在 SZ 患者中的实验应用。
我们发现了 8 篇关于 tACS 在 SZ 参与者中应用的研究报告。最常用的频率是 theta（4.5 赫兹[Hz]和 6 Hz）、alpha（10 Hz）和 gamma（40 Hz）。tACS 治疗的主要结果是：（1）减少听觉幻觉；（2）减少阴性症状；（3）认知改善；以及，（4）无变化。
本范围综述突出了当前 tACS 研究中用于 SZ 的方案、主要发现和局限性，并为新方法指明了方向。研究人员使用的目标、方案和评估方法多种多样，这表明随着结果的不断出现，需要更全面地探索当前该领域使用的研究方法。
