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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Greg Elder, Dr Michael FirbankORCiD, Professor John-Paul TaylorORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
ABSTRACTBackground: Individuals with Lewy body dementia (LBD) typically exhibit impairments in attentional and executive function. Current pharmacological treatments have limited efficacy, with associated side effects. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may represent an alternative treatment, as cognitive improvements have been demonstrated in healthy individuals. However, no studies to date have assessed the feasibility of tDCS in an LBD population. The aim of this preliminary study, therefore, was to assess the tolerability of tDCS, as well as its effects upon attentional and visuoperceptual performance, in LBD patients.Methods: Thirteen participants completed attentional (simple reaction time, choice reaction time, and digit vigilance) and forced-choice visuoperceptual (angle and motion perception) tasks before and after one 20-min session of active tDCS (0.08 mA/cm2). The anodal electrode was applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the cathodal electrode was applied to the right deltoid. Attentional (task accuracy and reaction time to correct answers) and visuoperceptual (task accuracy and difficulty) outcome measures were compared using paired t-tests.Results: All participants tolerated stimulation and did not report any side effects during or immediately after stimulation. Post-stimulation improvements were observed in the choice reaction time (increased percentage of correct answers; p = 0.01) and digit vigilance (reduced mean reaction time to correct answers; p = 0.02) attention tasks. Visuoperceptual task performance did not improve (all p-values > 0.05).Conclusions: Attentional, but not visuoperceptual, improvements were observed following stimulation in LBD patients. Larger-scale, placebo-controlled trials are needed to confirm whether tDCS is a useful treatment option for attentional deficits in LBD.
Author(s): Elder GJ, Firbank MJ, Kumar H, Chatterjee P, Chakraborty T, Dutt A, Taylor J-P
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Psychogeriatrics
Year: 2016
Volume: 28
Issue: 02
Pages: 341-347
Print publication date: 01/02/2016
Online publication date: 07/08/2015
Acceptance date: 27/06/2015
Date deposited: 12/08/2015
ISSN (print): 1041-6102
ISSN (electronic): 1741-203X
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1041610215001180
DOI: 10.1017/S1041610215001180
PubMed id: 26250473
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