Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33063718›Full record

ArticleNeural regeneration research2021

Transcranial direct current stimulation for auditory verbal hallucinations: a systematic review of clinical trials.

Samaneh Rashidi, Myles Jones, Eric Murillo-Rodriguez, Sergio Machado, Youguo Hao, Ali Yadollahpour

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neural regeneration research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 26% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
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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

6 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.

Samaneh RashidiDepartment of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Myles JonesDepartment of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Eric Murillo-RodriguezLaboratorio de Neurociencias Moleculares e Integrativas, Escuela de Medicina División Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Anáhuac Mayab, Mérida, Yucatán, México.
Sergio MachadoLaboratory of Physical Activity Neuroscience, Physical Activity Sciences Postgraduate Program, Salgado de Oliveira University, Niterói, Brazil.
Youguo HaoDepartment of Rehabilitation, Shanghai Putuo People's Hospital, Shanghai, China.
Ali YadollahpourDepartment of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
University of Sheffield · GBAhvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences · IRAnahuac Mayab University · MXCentral Hospital of Putuo District · CNUniversidade Salgado de Oliveira · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been reportedly beneficial for different neurodegenerative disorders. tDCS has been reported as a potential adjunctive or alternative treatment for auditory verbal hallucination (AVH). This study aims to review the effects of tDCS on AVH in patients with schizophrenia through combining the evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The databases of PsycINFO (2000-2019), PubMed (2000-2019), EMBASE (2000-2019), CINAHL (2000-2019), Web of Science (2000-2019), and Scopus (2000-2019) were systematically searched. The clinical trials with RCT design were selected for final analysis. A total of nine RCTs were eligible and included in the review. Nine RCTs were included in the final analysis. Among them, six RCTs reported a significant reduction of AVH after repeated sessions of tDCS, whereas three RCTs did not show any advantage of active tDCS over sham tDCS. The current studies showed an overall decrease of approximately 28% of AVH after active tDCS and 10% after sham tDCS. The tDCS protocols targeting the sensorimotor frontal-parietal network showed greater treatment effects compared with the protocols targeting other regions. In this regard, cathodal tDCS over the left temporoparietal area showed inhibitory effects on AVHs. The most effective tDCS protocol on AVHs was twice-daily sessions (2 mA, 20-minute duration) over 5 consecutive days (10 sessions) with the anode over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the cathode over the left temporal area. Some patient-specific and disease-specific factors such as young age, nonsmoking status, and higher frequencies of AVHs seemed to be the predictors of treatment response. Taken together, the results of tDCS as an alternative treatment option for AVH show controversy among current literatures, since not all studies were positive. However, the studies targeting the same site of the brain showed that the tDCS could be a promising treatment option to reduce AVH. Further RCTs, with larger sample sizes, should be conducted to reach a conclusion on the efficacy of tDCS for AVH and to develop an effective therapeutic protocol for clinical setting.

Indexed as

auditory verbal hallucinations; dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; effective protocol; randomized clinical trialschizophrenia; temporoparietal area; transcranial direct current stimulation; treatment efficacy

Identifiers

PMID33063718
PMCPMC8067931
OpenAlexW3091809395

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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.