Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30611756›Full record

Trial reportAppetite2019

The effect of expectation on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to suppress food craving and eating in individuals with overweight and obesity.

Mary Katherine Ray, Maria D Sylvester, Alexis Helton, Bethany R Pittman, Laura E Wagstaff, Tommy R McRae, Bulent Turan, Kevin R Fontaine, Franklin R Amthor, Mary M Boggiano

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Appetite, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  18. Electroceuticals in the Gastrointestinal Tract.Trends in pharmacological sciences · 2020
    Review
  19. Investigating the effects of tDCS on Visual Orientation Discrimination Task Performance: 'The possible influence of placebo'.Journal of cognitive enhancement : towards the integration of theory and practice · 2020
    Article
  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

10 authors.

Mary Katherine RayDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Maria D SylvesterDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Alexis HeltonDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Bethany R PittmanDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Laura E WagstaffDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Tommy R McRaeDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Bulent TuranDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Kevin R FontaineDepartment of Health Behavior, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Franklin R AmthorDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Mary M BoggianoDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. Electronic address: boggiano@uab.edu.

Funding

Why is the prevalence of obesity so high in U.S. Southern States? Regional predictors of BMI and obesity treatment response.P30DK056336 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI BARBARA A GOWER · 2000 to 2026
$31.9M
Zevalin Radioimmunotherapy Using a Modified TreatmentM01RR000032 · NCRR · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI RICH, ROBERT R. · 1985 to 2008
$23.6M
University of Alabama at Birmingham's Diabetes Research CenterP30DK079626 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI BARBARA A GOWER · 2013 to 2026
$19.5M
UAB Diabetes Research and Training CenterP60DK079626 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI GARVEY, W TIMOTHY · 2008 to 2012
$8.4M
UAB Pre-Doctoral Training Program in Obesity-Related ResearchT32HL105349 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI BARBARA A GOWER · 2010 to 2026
$5.7M
NCRR NIH HHS M01 RR000032NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL105349NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK056336NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK079626NIDDK NIH HHS P60 DK079626
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a neuromodulation technique with potential to treat eating disorders and obesity. As for any potential treatment, it is important to assess the degree to which expectation effects contribute to its reported efficacy. This study assessed the effect of tDCS on amount of food craving and eating while tightly controlling treatment expectation. N = 74 adults with overweight or obesity were informed of the known effects of tDCS to suppress craving and eating. Once electrodes were on the head, half of the participants were told they were receiving real, and the other half sham tDCS. Within these groups, approximately half actually received real and the other half sham tDCS. Stimulation parameters used were those previously found to reduce craving and eating, including in our lab: 2 mA, anode right/cathode left targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 20 min (real), or only for the first and last minute (sham). Analyses controlled for demographics, hunger, trait impulsiveness, eating motives, dieting, binge eating, suggestibility, and baseline craving and eating. Participants told they were receiving real tDCS craved and ate less than participants told they were receiving sham tDCS (both p < 0.01), regardless of tDCS condition administered. There was no main effect of real vs. sham tDCS on craving or eating or an interaction between tDCS condition and expectation. The scientific validation of tDCS as a treatment for eating-related conditions hinges on controlling for the powerful effects of expectation. This can include the type of information provided on consent forms and participants' ability to guess real from sham conditions.

Indexed as

CravingAdolescentAdultFeeding BehaviorFemaleHumansMaleObesityOverweightTranscranial Direct Current StimulationTreatment OutcomeYoung AdultCognitionDorsolateral prefrontal cortexNeuromodulationPlaceboPsychologicalSuggestibility

Identifiers

PMID30611756
PMCPMC6430671

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.