Trial reportFrontiers in public health2024
Treatment strategies for smartphone addiction: efficacy study of transcranial direct current stimulation and exergaming.
Trial report in Frontiers in public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- P300 Event-Related Potentials as Cognitive Biomarkers in Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review.Revista de neurologia · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of exercise as an intervention for internet addiction in adolescents: a meta-analysis.PeerJ · 2025Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: Smartphone addiction is on the rise globally. This study aimed to compare the rehabilitative effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and exergames on smartphone addiction among college students. Additionally, we discussed the central mechanisms through changes in electroencephalography (EEG) to provide clinical insights. Methods: Thirty-six participants were randomly assigned to three groups: control group, tDCS group (bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex stimulation), and exergame group. The intervention lasted for 4 weeks with twice-weekly sessions. Outcome measures included the Smartphone Addiction Scale - Chinese Version (SAS-C), Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) net scores, and event-related potential (ERP) data collected during the IGT, focusing on P300 and feedback-related negativity (FRN) amplitudes. Results: All groups showed significant reductions in SAS-C scores post-intervention. Behaviorally, post-intervention scores improved, indicating significant effects of different interventions on participants' strategy choices. P300 amplitudes increased significantly at outcome electrode sites for all groups, with the most notable increase in tDCS group FC2 and CP1. FRN amplitudes decreased significantly post-intervention in the control and tDCS groups, with significant differences between the two groups. Conclusion: All three interventions appeared to have alleviating effect on smartphone addiction. After 4 weeks, participants showed improved executive control and decision-making abilities. Specifically, significant effects were observed in the tDCS group, with increased P300 amplitudes in the frontal, parietal, and central regions, as well as FRN amplitudes in the central and frontal regions. This suggested that tDCS enhanced psychological resources and improved inhibition control capabilities.
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Registered trials
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