Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30127510›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2018

Cognitive effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with working memory training in fibromyalgia: a randomized clinical trial.

Vinicius Souza Dos Souza Dos Santos, Maxciel Zortea, Rael Lopes Alves, Cátia Cilene Dos Santos Naziazeno, Júlia Schirmer Saldanha, Sandra da Conceição Ribeiro de Carvalho, António Jorge da Costa Leite, Iraci Lucena da Silva Torres, Andressa de Souza, Prisla Ücker Calvetti and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Trial
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  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Therapeutic approach to fibromyalgia: a consensus statement on pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment from the neuropathic pain special interest group of the Italian neurological society.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Article
  12. Review
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  15. Article
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  18. Editorial: Updates on memory modulation in health and disease.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2023
    Article
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  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Vinicius Souza Dos Souza Dos SantosPost-graduation Program in Medicine: Medical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Maxciel ZorteaPost-graduation Program in Medicine: Medical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Rael Lopes AlvesLaboratory of Pain & Neuromodulation, Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Cátia Cilene Dos Santos NaziazenoLaboratory of Pain & Neuromodulation, Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Júlia Schirmer SaldanhaPost-graduation Program in Medicine: Medical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Sandra da Conceição Ribeiro de CarvalhoLaboratory of Neurophysiology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
António Jorge da Costa LeiteLaboratory of Neurophysiology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-0323-9012
Iraci Lucena da Silva TorresPost-Graduation Program in Biological Sciences, Physiology, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Andressa de SouzaLaboratory of Pain & Neuromodulation, Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Prisla Ücker CalvettiLaboratory of Pain & Neuromodulation, Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Felipe FregniNeuromodulation Center, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States.
Wolnei CaumoPost-graduation Program in Medicine: Medical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. wcaumo@hcpa.edu.br.
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul · BRHarvard University · USHospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cognitive dysfunction in fibromyalgia has been reported, especially memory. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been effective in enhancing this function. We tested the effects of eight sessions of tDCS and cognitive training on immediate and delayed memory, verbal fluency and working memory and its association with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. Forty females with fibromyalgia were randomized to receive eight sessions of active or sham tDCS. Anodal stimulation (2 mA) was applied over the DLPFC and online combined with a working memory training (WMT) for 20 minutes. Pre and post-treatment neurocognitive tests were administered. Data analysis on deltas considering years of education and BDNF as covariates, indicated active-tDCS + WMT significantly increased immediate memory indexed by Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test score when compared to sham. This effect was dependent on basal BDNF levels. In addition, the model showed active stimulation increased orthographic and semantic verbal fluency scores (Controlled Oral Word Association Test) and short-term memory (Forward Digit Span). The combination of both techniques seemed to produce effects on specific cognitive functions related to short-term and long-term episodic memory and executive functions, which has clinical relevance for top-down treatment approaches in FM.

Indexed as

CognitionCognitive DysfunctionExecutive FunctionFemaleFibromyalgiaHumansLearningMaleMemory, Short-TermMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsPrefrontal CortexTranscranial Direct Current Stimulation

Identifiers

PMID30127510
PMCPMC6102237
OpenAlexW2885547967

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.