ArticleNeuropsychiatric disease and treatment2021
Efficacy and Safety of tDCS and tACS in Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Factorial Placebo-Controlled Study Design.
Article in Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of Electrical Stimulation on Mental Stress, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- Transcranial alternating current stimulation for neuropsychiatric disorders: a systematic review of treatment parameters and outcomes.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Physical Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression A Comprehensive Review of Efficacy, Safety, and Evidence Grading.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2026Review
- Multi-scale model of neural entrainment by transcranial alternating current stimulation in realistic cortical anatomy.Journal of computational neuroscience · 2025Article
- Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances Working Memory Ability in Healthy People: An EEG Microstate Study.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Working Memory and Transcranial-Alternating Current Stimulation-State of the Art: Findings, Missing, and Challenges.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) are regarded as promising antidepressant treatments.
objectiveTo compare the efficacy and safety of tDCS, tACS, escitalopram, and placebo/sham stimulation controls.
designRandomized, parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
methodsSample sizes were calculated based on data from previous similar studies. Eligible non-treatment-resistant-depressive outpatient subjects with moderate-to-severe depression (HRDS ≥17) are randomized to receive (1) tDCS + placebo; (2) tACS + placebo; (3) escitalopram + placebo; or (4) sham stimulation + placebo. The intensity of electricity is 2 mA, lasting for 30 minutes over two consecutive working days (10 sessions in total). The medication lasts for 6 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the response rates within 6 weeks (week 6 is also the endpoint of the study), and secondary outcome measures included changes in other clinical measurements. Safety and acceptability are measured by adverse event rates and dropout rates. Exploring outcome consist of the performance of cognitive battery as well as neurophysiology results.
conclusionTo the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first double-blind controlled study comparing tDCS, tACS, and clinically used antidepressants, which will provide further evidence for their efficacy and safety in possible clinical applications.
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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.