Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity. ADHD impairments arise from irregularities primarily in dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) circuits within the prefrontal cortex. Due to ADHD medication’s controversial side effects and high rates of diagnosis, alternative/complementary pharmacological therapeutic approaches for ADHD are needed. Although the number of publications that study the potential effects of caffeine consumption on ADHD treatment have been accumulating over the last years, and caffeine has recently been used in ADHD research in the context of animal models, an updated evidence-based systematic review on the effects of caffeine on ADHD-like symptoms in animal studies is lacking. To provide insight and value at the preclinical level, a systematic review based on PRISMA guidelines was performed for all publications available up to 1 September 2021. Caffeine treatment increases attention and improves learning, memory, and olfactory discrimination without altering blood pressure and body weight. These results are supported at the neuronal/molecular level. Nonetheless, the role of caffeine in modulating ADHD-like symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity is contradictory, raising discrepancies that require further clarification. Our results strengthen the hypothesis that the cognitive effects of caffeine found in animal models could be translated to human ADHD, particularly during adolescence.
Background
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a generalized, widespread chronic pain disorder affecting 2.7% of the general population. In recent years, different studies have observed a strong association between FM and psychological trauma. Therefore, a trauma-focused psychotherapy, such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), combined with a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, such as multifocal transcranial current stimulation (MtCS), could be an innovative adjunctive treatment option. This double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) analyzes if EMDR therapy is effective in the reduction of pain symptoms in FM patients and if its potential is boosted with the addition of MtCS.
Methods
Forty-five patients with FM and a history of traumatic events will be randomly allocated to Waiting List, EMDR + active-MtCS, or EMDR + sham-MtCS. Therapists and patients will be kept blind to MtCS conditions, and raters will be kept blind to both EMDR and MtCS. All patients will be evaluated at baseline, post-treatment, and follow-up at 6 months after post-treatment. Evaluations will assess the following variables: sociodemographic data, pain, psychological trauma, sleep disturbance, anxiety and affective symptoms, and wellbeing.
Discussion
This study will provide evidence of whether EMDR therapy is effective in reducing pain symptoms in FM patients, and whether the effect of EMDR can be enhanced by MtCS.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04084795. Registered on 2 August 2019.
We investigated the modulatory effects of cathodal High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) on risk-taking. Methods: Thirty-four healthy adults underwent 3 independent cathodal HD-tDCS interventions (DLPFC, VLPFC, sham) delivered in counterbalanced order during the performance of the balloon analogue risk task (autoBART). Participants were clustered post-hoc in 3 separate personality profiles according to the HEXACO-60 and the Dark Triad dirty dozen and we reanalysed the data. Results: Dorsal prefrontal cathodal HD-tDCS significantly modulated autoBART performance rendering participants less prone to risk-taking (i.e., more conservative) under left DLPFC HD-tDCS compared to left VLPFC or sham stimulation. The re-analysis of the same dataset, taking into consideration personality traits, suggested specific effects in impulsive-disinhibited and normative participants for DLPFC and VLPFC stimulation, respectively. Specifically, we saw that participants classified as impulsive-disinhibited were more affected by HD-tDCS left DLPFC stimulation than other profiles. Conclusions: Both, dorsal and ventral prefrontal active HD-tDCS decrease risk-taking behaviour compared to sham stimulation. Importantly, such effects are likely influenced by personality traits (impulsive disinhibited vs normative) exhibited by the participants.
Bilateral PFC Deep HF-rTMS protocol improved social cognition in a patient with Down’s Syndrome (DS, also known as Trisomy 21). DS is a genetic disorder originating from the existence of all or part of the third copy of chromosome 21 and is usually associated with difficulties in motor development, expressive language, grammar, speech clarity, number skills, verbal short-term memory etc.
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