Trial reportPloS one2017
Single-Session Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Temporarily Improves Symptoms, Mood, and Self-Regulatory Control in Bulimia Nervosa: A Randomised Controlled Trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effects of neuromodulation interventions on the eating behaviors of patients with eating disorders compared to healthy controls, sham therapies, and other therapeutic approaches: A systematic review.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025Pooled it
- The Effects of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation on Impulsivity in People with Mental Disorders: a Systematic Review and Explanatory Meta-Analysis.Neuropsychology review · 2020Pooled it
- The effect of unilateral hand muscle contraction on frontal alpha asymmetry and inhibitory control in intrinsic reward contexts, a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- The relationship between frontal alpha asymmetry and behavioral and brain activity indices of reactive inhibitory control.Journal of neurophysiology · 2024Trial
- Combined antisaccade task and transcranial direct current stimulation to increase response inhibition in binge eating disorder.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2021Trial
- Trial
- The Genoeconomics of Impulsive Intertemporal Choice: A Critical Review.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2026Review
- Non-invasive brain stimulation as an experimental treatment approach for bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders: A meta-analysis and systematic review of literature.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2026Review
- Approved and Pipeline Pharmacological Interventions for Eating Disorders (2010-2025): 15 Years of Progress (or Lack Thereof).CNS drugs · 2026Review
- A feasibility study of the effects of concurrent transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on mindfulness training in adults living with overweight or obesity: the MINDED trial protocol.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2026Article
- Recent developments in treatments for eating disorders.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026Review
- Enhanced activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and inferior parietal lobule during recovery from body dissatisfaction.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2025Article
- Eating- and Weight-Related Disorders in the Armed Forces.Metabolites · 2024Review
- Neuromodulation of Eating Disorders: A Review of Underlying Neural Network Activity and Neuromodulatory Treatments.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Efficacy of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Controlling of Food Craving in Subjects With Overweight or Obesity: A Pilot Study.Psychiatry investigation · 2024Article
- Bulimia nervosa and treatment-related disparities: a review.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Review
- Pharmacotherapy, alternative and adjunctive therapies for eating disorders: findings from a rapid review.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Review
- Central Regulation of Eating Behaviors in Humans: Evidence from Functional Neuroimaging Studies.Nutrients · 2023Review
- State-specific alterations in the neural computations underlying inhibitory control in women remitted from bulimia nervosa.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Article
- Altered prefrontal activation during the inhibition of eating responses in women with bulimia nervosa.Psychological medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEvidence suggests that pathological eating behaviours in bulimia nervosa (BN) are underpinned by alterations in reward processing and self-regulatory control, and by functional changes in neurocircuitry encompassing the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Manipulation of this region with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may therefore alleviate symptoms of the disorder.
objectiveThis double-blind sham-controlled proof-of-principle trial investigated the effects of bilateral tDCS over the DLPFC in adults with BN.
methodsThirty-nine participants (two males) received three sessions of tDCS in a randomised and counterbalanced order: anode right/cathode left (AR/CL), anode left/cathode right (AL/CR), and sham. A battery of psychological/neurocognitive measures was completed before and after each session and the frequency of bulimic behaviours during the following 24-hours was recorded.
resultsAR/CL tDCS reduced eating disorder cognitions (indexed by the Mizes Eating Disorder Cognitions Questionnaire-Revised) when compared to AL/CR and sham tDCS. Both active conditions suppressed the self-reported urge to binge-eat and increased self-regulatory control during a temporal discounting task. Compared to sham stimulation, mood (assessed with the Profile of Mood States) improved after AR/CL but not AL/CR tDCS. Lastly, the three tDCS sessions had comparable effects on the wanting/liking of food and on bulimic behaviours during the 24 hours post-stimulation.
conclusionsThese data suggest that single-session tDCS transiently improves symptoms of BN. They also help to elucidate possible mechanisms of action and highlight the importance of selecting the optimal electrode montage. Multi-session trials are needed to determine whether tDCS has potential for development as a treatment for adult BN.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.