ArticleIBRO neuroscience reports2022
The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with cognitive training on EEG spectral power in adolescent boys with ADHD: A double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial.
Article in IBRO neuroscience reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 5 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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Combined Use of Electroencephalography and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation: A Systematic Review.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- The use of combined cognitive training and non-invasive brain stimulation to modulate impulsivity in adult populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review of randomized controlled trials on efficacy and safety of transcranial direct current stimulation in major neurodevelopmental disorders: ADHD, autism, and dyslexia.Brain and behavior · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of transcranial direct current stimulation for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPNPooled it
- Outcomes From Use of the Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) 11⁺ Program With and Without Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in 60 Male High School Soccer Players.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026Trial
- The effects of transcranial random noise stimulation on excitation/inhibition balance in ADHD.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2026Trial
- Transcranial random noise stimulation combined with cognitive training for treating ADHD: a randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial.Translational psychiatry · 2023Trial
- Wireless Electroencephalography in Research on Children With Developmental Disabilities: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Change in vital parameters at first methylphenidate administration as a predictor of treatment response at six-month follow-up.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Adherence to Therapy Using Neurostimulation Devices in the Treatment of Pediatric Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Extraclinical Study.JMIR neurotechnology · 2025Article
- Enhancing EEG Components in Adolescents With ADHD Using Transcranial Electrical Stimulation: A Randomized-active Controlled Study.Basic and clinical neuroscience · 2025Article
- Benefits of multi-micronutrient nutritional formula combined with aerobic exercise on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: improvements in symptoms, cognition, executive function, and sleep.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- Lasting enhancements in neural efficiency by multi-session transcranial direct current stimulation during working memory training.NPJ science of learning · 2023Article
- Methylphenidate is more effective to improve inhibitory control and working memory compared to tDCS in children and adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a proof-of-concept study.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Article
- Efficacy and safety of transcranial direct current stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized, triple-blinded, sham-controlled, crossover trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Neurotherapeutics for ADHD: Do they work?PsyCh journal · 2022Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a possible alternative to psychostimulants in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but its mechanisms of action in children and adolescents with ADHD are poorly understood. We conducted the first 15-session, sham-controlled study of anodal tDCS over right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) combined with cognitive training (CT) in 50 children/adolescents with ADHD. We investigated the mechanisms of action on resting and Go/No-Go Task-based QEEG measures in a subgroup of 23 participants with ADHD (n, sham = 10; anodal tDCS = 13). We failed to find a significant sham versus anodal tDCS group differences in QEEG spectral power during rest and Go/No-Go Task performance, a correlation between QEEG and Go/No-Go Task performance, and changes in clinical and cognitive measures. These findings extend the non-significant clinical and cognitive effects in our sample of 50 children/adolescents with ADHD. Given that the subgroup of 23 participants would have been underpowered, the interpretation of our findings is limited and should be used as a foundation for future investigations. Larger, adequately powered randomized controlled trials should explore different protocols titrated to the individual and using comprehensive measures to assess cognitive, clinical, and neural effects of tDCS and its underlying mechanisms of action in ADHD.
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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.