Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33980854›Full record

ReviewTranslational psychiatry2021

Conducting double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS).

Flavio Frohlich, Justin Riddle

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Translational psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06048159 (TACS for the Recovery of Phonological STM After Stroke), which is not on this map. Cited by 32 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 8% 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.

NCT06048159 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

TACS for the Recovery of Phonological STM After Stroke

TypeinterventionalSponsorMedical College of WisconsinRan2023 to 2033Enrolled120ConditionsStroke, AphasiaArmsHD-tACS, Sham HD-tACS
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Flavio FrohlichDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA. Flavio_frohlich@med.unc.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-3724-5621
Justin RiddleDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2251-3643
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

Rational Optimization of tACS for Targeting Thalamo-Cortical OscillationsR01MH111889 · NIMH · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI FROHLICH, FLAVIO · 2016 to 2019
$2.4M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH111889
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Many psychiatric and neurological illnesses can be conceptualized as oscillopathies defined as pathological changes in brain network oscillations. We previously proposed the application of rational design for the development of non-invasive brain stimulation for the modulation and restoration of cortical oscillations as a network therapeutic. Here, we show how transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), which applies a weak sine-wave electric current to the scalp, may serve as a therapeutic platform for the treatment of CNS illnesses. Recently, an initial series of double-blind, placebo-controlled treatment trials of tACS have been published. Here, we first map out the conceptual underpinnings of such trials with focus on target identification, engagement, and validation. Then, we discuss practical aspects that need to be considered for successful trial execution, with particular regards to ensuring successful study blind. Finally, we briefly review the few published double-blind tACS trials and conclude with a proposed roadmap to move the field forward with the goal of moving from pilot trials to convincing efficacy studies of tACS.

Indexed as

Transcranial Direct Current StimulationBrainDouble-Blind MethodRandomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Identifiers

PMID33980854
PMCPMC8116328
OpenAlexW3162812290

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.