Table 3 Studies investigated the efficacy of tDCS on individuals with OCD
Author, year | Study design | Anode and cathode position | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
Volpato et al., 2013 [32] | Case report One 35 year-old-male | Anode: neck; Cathode: F3 2 mA, 20 min daily for 10 days | • Not effective on OC symptoms • Significant effect on depression and anxiety |
Silva et al., 2016 [33] | Case report Two 31 and 37 year-old-males | Anode: left deltoid muscle; Cathode: pre-SMA 2 mA, 30 min daily for 20 days | • One participant had no improvement in Y-BOCS, depression, and anxiety • One participant had 55% reduction in Y-BOCS and 50% reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms |
Mondino et al., 2015 [34] | Case report One 52 year-old-female | Anode: right occipital cortex; Cathode: FP1 2 mA, 20 min twice a day for 5 days | • 26% reduction in Y-BOCS |
Narayanaswamy et al., 2015 [35] | Case report One 39 year-old-female and one 24 year-old-male | Anode: left pre-SMA; Cathode: right supra-orbital area 2 mA, 20 min twice a day for 10 days | • 46.7% reduction in Y-BOCS of male • 52% reduction in Y-BOCS of female |
D’Urso et al., 2016 [36] | Case report One 33 year-old-female | Active: pre-SMA; Reference: right deltoid 2 mA, 20 min daily for 20 days | • 11% worsening in Y-BOCS after anodal sessions • 30% reduction in Y-BOCS after cathodal sessions |
Alizadeh Goradel et al., 2016 [37] | Case report One 23 year-old-female | Anode: O2; Cathode: left OFC 2 mA, 20 min daily for 10 days | • 64% reduction in Y-BOCS; 87% reduction in depression; and 100% reduction in anxiety symptoms |
Palm et al., 2017 [38] | Case report One 31 year-old-male | Anode: F3; Cathode: F4 2 mA, 30 min twice a day with total 20 stimulations in 2 weeks | • 22% reduction in Y-BOCS |
Hazari et al., 2016 [39] | Case report One 24 year-old-male | Anode: left pre-SMA; Cathode: right supraorbital area 2 mA, 20 min twice a day for 10 days | • 80% reduction in Y-BOCS |
Dinn et al., 2016 [40] | Open label trial Four females and one male | Anode: F3; Cathode: Fp2 2 mA, 20 min daily for 15 days | • 23% reduction in Y-BOCS but was not maintained at 1 month of follow-up • No reduction in anxiety symptoms and 30% reduction in depression symptoms |
Najafi et al., 2017 [41] | Open label trial Twenty three females and nineteen males | Anode: P1, C3, T7; Cathode: Fp2 2 mA, 30 min daily with total 15 stimulations in 3 weeks | • 79% reduction in Y-BOCS |
Bation et al., 2016 [20] | Open label trial Six females and two males | Anode: right cerebellum; Cathode: left OFC 2 mA, 20 min twice a day for 5 days | • 26% reduction in Y-OBCS |
D’Urso et al., 2016 [21] | RCT Seven females and four males | Active: Cz; Reference: lateral surface of right deltoid 2 mA, 20 min daily for 10 days | • Cases with anodal stimulation (N = 6) had worsening in Y-BOCS • Cases with cathodal stimulation (N = 6) had 20% reduction in Y-BOCS |
Yekta et al., 2015 [42] | Controlled RCT Twenty cases (no data on gender) | Anode: F4; Cathode: F3 2 mA; 20 min daily for 15 days in experimental group | • Improved decision-making of experimental group (N = 10) compared to sham control group (N = 10) • No report on Y-BOCS |
Gowda et al., 2019 [43]; | Controlled RCT Four females and 21 males | Anode: pre-SMA; Cathode: right supraorbital area 2 mA, 20 min twice a day for 5 days | • Y-BOCS was significantly reduced in experimental group compared to baseline and sham control arm |
Bation et al., 2020 [44]; | Controlled RCT | Anode: right cerebellum; Cathode: PF1 2 mA, 20 min twice a day for 5 days | • Significant acute effect of tDCS in experimental group compared to baseline and sham control arm • No changes in experimental group was observed compared to sham control arm after 1 and 3 months of tDCS stimulation |