Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33211157›Full record

SynthesisEuropean archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience2021

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS): from basic mechanisms towards first applications in psychiatry.

Osama Elyamany, Gregor Leicht, Christoph S Herrmann, Christoph Mulert

3 registry-linked trialsOpen access · hybridAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 153 papers, 19 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
153citing papers in PubMed, 19 pooled it
9.2field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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.

NCT06558890 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2024, after this paper: background citation

A Study on the Efficacy and Mechanism of Targeted Cerebellar Transcranial Electrical Stimulation for the Treatment of Refractory Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: A Single-center, Observational Study.

TypeinterventionalSponsorXijing HospitalRan2024 to 2024Enrolled60ConditionsTranscranial Electrical Stimulation, Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, ElectroencephalogramArmsTranscranial Alternating Current Stimulation
NCT07185451 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Efficacy and Safety of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) Combined With Stable Medication in Adolescents With Depression: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Pilot Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorFirst Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityRan2025 to 2027Enrolled30ConditionsDepression - Major Depressive DisorderArmstACS
NCT07185464 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Efficacy and Safety of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) in Adolescents With First-episode Depression Who Are Drug-naive: A Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Pilot Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorFirst Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityRan2025 to 2026Enrolled30ConditionsDepression - Major Depressive DisorderArmstACS
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

153 citing papers in PubMed, 19 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 279 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Efficacy of transcranial alternating current stimulation on cognitive function in patients with dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
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  4. Efficacy and safety of tACS in older adults with cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
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  6. Effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation on cognitive function in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
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93 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Osama ElyamanyCentre of Psychiatry, Justus-Liebig University, Klinikstrasse 36, 35392, Giessen, Hessen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1598-4829
Gregor LeichtDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5104-9336
Christoph S HerrmannExperimental Psychology Lab, Centre for Excellence "Hearing4all," European Medical School, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0323-2272
Christoph MulertCentre of Psychiatry, Justus-Liebig University, Klinikstrasse 36, 35392, Giessen, Hessen, Germany. Christoph.Mulert@psychiat.med.uni-giessen.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8214-5868
Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen · DECarl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg · DEUniversität Hamburg · DE

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SFB936-C6-Third Funding PeriodDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SFB/TRR135-B7-Second Funding Period
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a unique form of non-invasive brain stimulation. Sinusoidal alternating electric currents are delivered to the scalp to affect mostly cortical neurons. tACS is supposed to modulate brain function and, in turn, cognitive processes by entraining brain oscillations and inducing long-term synaptic plasticity. Therefore, tACS has been investigated in cognitive neuroscience, but only recently, it has been also introduced in psychiatric clinical trials. This review describes current concepts and first findings of applying tACS as a potential therapeutic tool in the field of psychiatry. The current understanding of its mechanisms of action is explained, bridging cellular neuronal activity and the brain network mechanism. Revisiting the relevance of altered brain oscillations found in six major psychiatric disorders, putative targets for the management of mental disorders using tACS are discussed. A systematic literature search on PubMed was conducted to report findings of the clinical studies applying tACS in patients with psychiatric conditions. In conclusion, the initial results may support the feasibility of tACS in clinical psychiatric populations without serious adverse events. Moreover, these results showed the ability of tACS to reset disturbed brain oscillations, and thus to improve behavioural outcomes. In addition to its potential therapeutic role, the reactivity of the brain circuits to tACS could serve as a possible tool to determine the diagnosis, classification or prognosis of psychiatric disorders. Future double-blind randomised controlled trials are necessary to answer currently unresolved questions. They may aim to detect response predictors and control for various confounding factors.

Indexed as

BrainTranscranial Direct Current StimulationHumansNeuronal PlasticityNeuronsPsychiatryDepressionNon-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS)OCDPsychiatrySchizophreniaTranscranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)

Identifiers

PMID33211157
PMCPMC7867505
OpenAlexW3100808032

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.