Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35938945›Full record

SynthesisBrain and behavior2022

A systematic review of randomized controlled trials on efficacy and safety of transcranial direct current stimulation in major neurodevelopmental disorders: ADHD, autism, and dyslexia.

Mohammad Ali Salehinejad, Elham Ghanavati, Benedikt Glinski, Amir-Homayun Hallajian, Anita Azarkolah

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

Synthesis in Brain and behavior, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 42 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
6.9field-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.

NCT07576517 phase4not yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Perioperative Use of Dexmedetomidine-esketamine Combination and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Prevention of Neurocognitive Complications in Older Patients After Non-cardiac Surgery: a 2×2 Factorial Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorPeking University First HospitalRan2026 to 2030Enrolled1,160ConditionsOlder Patients, Surgery, Dexmedetomidine, EsketamineArmsDex-Esk, Placebo, Active tDCS, Sham tDCS
NCT07576543 phase4not yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Long-term Follow-up of Perioperative Dexmedetomidine-esketamine Combination and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Prevention of Neurocognitive Complications in Older Patients After Non-cardiac Surgery

TypeinterventionalSponsorPeking University First HospitalRan2026 to 2031Enrolled1,160ConditionsOlder Patients, Surgery, Dexmedetomidine, EsketamineArmsDex-Esk, Placebo, Active tDCS, Sham tDCS
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. [Localizing target for transcranial electrical stimulation in epilepsy patients combining scalp electroencephalogram and neural computational model].Sheng wu yi xue gong cheng xue za zhi = Journal of biomedical engineering = Shengwu yixue gongchengxue zazhi · 2025
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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

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Mohammad Ali SalehinejadDepartment of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-1913-4677
Elham GhanavatiDepartment of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5944-8123
Benedikt GlinskiDepartment of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-6745-4125
Amir-Homayun HallajianDepartment of Psychology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0001-5848-7841
Anita AzarkolahShariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0001-5744-548X
TU Dortmund University · DEShariati Hospital · IRUniversity of Tehran · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAmong the target groups in child and adolescent psychiatry, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been more applied in neurodevelopmental disorders specifically, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and dyslexia. This systematic review aims to provide the latest update on published randomized-controlled trials applying tDCS in these disorders for evaluating its efficacy and safety.

methodsBased on a pre-registered protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42022321430) and using the PRISMA approach, a literature search identified 35 randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of tDCS on children and adolescents with ADHD (n = 17), ASD (n = 11), and dyslexia (n = 7).

resultsIn ADHD, prefrontal anodal tDCS is reported more effective compared to stimulation of the right inferior frontal gyrus. Similarly in ASD, prefrontal anodal tDCS was found effective for improving behavioral problems. In dyslexia, stimulating temporoparietal regions was the most common and effective protocol. In ASD and dyslexia, all tDCS studies found an improvement in at least one of the outcome variables while 64.7% of studies (11 of 17) in ADHD found a similar effect. About 88% of all tDCS studies with a multi-session design in 3 disorders (16 of 18) reported a significant improvement in one or all outcome variables after the intervention. Randomized, double-blind, controlled trials consisted of around 70.5%, 36.3%, and 57.1% of tDCS studies in ADHD, ASD, and dyslexia, respectively. tDCS was found safe with no reported serious side effects in 6587 sessions conducted on 745 children and adolescents across 35 studies.

conclusiontDCS was found safe and partially effective. For evaluation of clinical utility, larger randomized controlled trials with a double-blind design and follow-up measurements are required. Titration studies that systematically evaluate different stimulation intensities, duration, and electrode placement are lacking.

Indexed as

Attention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityAutism Spectrum DisorderAutistic DisorderDyslexiaTranscranial Direct Current StimulationAdolescentChildHumansPrefrontal CortexRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicADHDautism spectrum disorderdyslexianeurodevelopmental disordersRCTsystematic reviewtranscranial direct current stimulationtranscranial electrical stimulation

Identifiers

PMID35938945
PMCPMC9480913
OpenAlexW4290727142

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.