1
|
Prillinger K, Radev ST, Amador de Lara G, Werneck-Rohrer S, Plener PL, Poustka L, Konicar L. Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Social Attention Patterns and Emotion Recognition Ability in Male Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Clin Med 2023; 12:5570. [PMID: 37685637 PMCID: PMC10489141 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12175570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social cognition including emotion recognition (ER) abilities. Common symptoms include unusual patterns of visual social attention, which are investigated as early developmental biomarkers for ASD. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has shown promising results in influencing social functioning in individuals with ASD. However, the effects of tDCS on social attention patterns and ER ability in adolescents with ASD remain unclear. This double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial examined the effects of repeated sessions of tDCS on gaze behavior and ER ability in 22 male adolescents diagnosed with ASD. Participants received either 20 min of 2 mA active tDCS or sham stimulation for 10 days and an intra-stimulation training. Social allocation patterns were assessed using eye-tracking paradigms, including ER tasks. Our results indicated no tDCS-specific effects. Both groups showed improvements in ER and more frequent, faster, and longer fixations on the eyes than the mouth, and on social than nonsocial areas. In tasks with low social content, fixating the mouth seemed to increase ER accuracy. Understanding the effects of tDCS on social functioning in adolescents with ASD holds promise for the development of targeted interventions to improve their social cognition abilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karin Prillinger
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics (CCP), Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan T. Radev
- Cluster of Excellence STRUCTURES, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany;
| | - Gabriel Amador de Lara
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics (CCP), Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Sonja Werneck-Rohrer
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics (CCP), Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Paul L. Plener
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics (CCP), Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, 89073 Ulm, Germany
| | - Luise Poustka
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lilian Konicar
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics (CCP), Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Subramaniam A, Liu S, Lochhead L, Appelbaum LG. A systematic review of transcranial direct current stimulation on eye movements and associated psychological function. Rev Neurosci 2022; 34:349-364. [PMID: 36310385 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2022-0082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The last decades have seen a rise in the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) approaches to modulate brain activity and associated behavior. Concurrently, eye tracking (ET) technology has improved to allow more precise quantitative measurement of gaze behavior, offering a window into the mechanisms of vision and cognition. When combined, tDCS and ET provide a powerful system to probe brain function and measure the impact on visual function, leading to an increasing number of studies that utilize these techniques together. The current pre-registered, systematic review seeks to describe the literature that integrates these approaches with the goal of changing brain activity with tDCS and measuring associated changes in eye movements with ET. The literature search identified 26 articles that combined ET and tDCS in a probe-and-measure model and are systematically reviewed here. All studies implemented controlled interventional designs to address topics related to oculomotor control, cognitive processing, emotion regulation, or cravings in healthy volunteers and patient populations. Across these studies, active stimulation typically led to changes in the number, duration, and timing of fixations compared to control stimulation. Notably, half the studies addressed emotion regulation, each showing hypothesized effects of tDCS on ET metrics, while tDCS targeting the frontal cortex was widely used and also generally produced expected modulation of ET. This review reveals promising evidence of the impact of tDCS on eye movements and associated psychological function, offering a framework for effective designs with recommendations for future studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ashwin Subramaniam
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Sicong Liu
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Liam Lochhead
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Lawrence Gregory Appelbaum
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Ge Y, Su R, Liang Z, Luo J, Tian S, Shen X, Wu H, Liu C. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Over the Right Temporal Parietal Junction Facilitates Spontaneous Micro-Expression Recognition. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:933831. [PMID: 35874155 PMCID: PMC9305610 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.933831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Micro-expressions are fleeting and subtle emotional expressions. As they are spontaneous and uncontrollable by one's mind, micro-expressions are considered an indicator of genuine emotions. Their accurate recognition and interpretation promote interpersonal interaction and social communication. Therefore, enhancing the ability to recognize micro-expressions has captured much attention. In the current study, we investigated the effects of training on micro-expression recognition with a Chinese version of the Micro-Expression Training Tool (METT). Our goal was to confirm whether the recognition accuracy of spontaneous micro-expressions could be improved through training and brain stimulation. Since the right temporal parietal junction (rTPJ) has been shown to be involved in the explicit process of facial emotion recognition, we hypothesized that the rTPJ would play a role in facilitating the recognition of micro-expressions. The results showed that anodal transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) of the rTPJ indeed improved the recognition of spontaneous micro-expressions, especially for those associated with fear. The improved accuracy of recognizing fear spontaneous micro-expressions was positively correlated with personal distress in the anodal group but not in the sham group. Our study supports that the combined use of tDCS and METT can be a viable way to train and enhance micro-expression recognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yue Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Institute of Biomedicine, Beijing, China
| | - Rui Su
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zilu Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Luo
- Beijing Institute of Biomedicine, Beijing, China
| | - Suizi Tian
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xunbing Shen
- College of Humanities, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, China
| | - Haiyan Wu
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Taipa, China
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Zhang L, Xuan R, Chen Q, Zhao Q, Shi Z, Du J, Zhu C, Yu F, Ji G, Wang K. High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation modulates eye gaze on emotional faces in college students with alexithymia: An eye-tracking study. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2022; 116:110521. [PMID: 35104607 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2022.110521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Atypical eye gaze on emotional faces is a core feature of alexithymia. The inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is considered to be the neurophysiological basis of alexithymia-related emotional face fixation. Our aim was to examine whether anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) administered to the right (r)IFG would facilitate eye gaze of emotional faces in alexithymia individuals. METHOD Forty individuals with alexithymia were equally assigned to anodal or sham HD-tDCS of the rIFG according to the principle of randomization. The individuals then completed a free-viewing eye tracking task (including happy, sad, and neutral faces) before and after 5 consecutive days of stimulation (twice a day). RESULTS The results showed that twice a day anodal HD-tDCS of the rIFG significantly increased the fixation time and fixation count of the eye area on happy and neutral faces, but there was no significant effect on sad faces. According to the temporal-course analysis, after the intervention, the fixation time on neutral faces increased significantly at almost all time points of the eye tracking task. For happy faces, the improvement was demonstrated between 500 and 1000 ms and between 2500 and 3500 ms. For sad faces, the fixation time improved but not significantly. CONCLUSIONS Applying high-dose anodal HD-tDCS to the rIFG selectively facilitated eye gaze in the eye area of neutral and happy faces in individuals with alexithymia, which may improve their face processing patterns.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhang
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
| | - Rongrong Xuan
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Qiuyu Chen
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Qingqing Zhao
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Zhulin Shi
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Jinmei Du
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Chunyan Zhu
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - FengQiong Yu
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Gongjun Ji
- School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| | - Kai Wang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, The School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei 230032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei 230088, China.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zhang J, Zhang H. Effects of non-invasive neurostimulation on autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:989905. [PMID: 36405911 PMCID: PMC9666381 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.989905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Non-invasive neurostimulation techniques (NIBS) have shown benefits in psychiatric conditions. While in ASD patients, no guideline has so-far been recommended on these techniques due to a lack of high-quality synthetic evidence. Here, a comprehensive search from database inception onward was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library. Sham-controlled studies assessing the effects of NIBS in ASD patients were identified. After screening, twenty-two studies were included. A total of 552 patients were involved, and the sample size ranged from 5 to 78 patients. Although an iteration from exploratory attempts to more strictly designed trials has been seen to evaluate the efficacy of NIBS on ASD, further trials should also be needed to enable the clinicians and researchers to reach any consensus. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION [https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021292434], identifier [CRD42021292434].
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiawei Zhang
- School of Rehabilitation, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Zhang
- School of Rehabilitation, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China.,Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.,University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Huang H, Chen L, Chopp M, Young W, Robert Bach J, He X, Sarnowaska A, Xue M, Chunhua Zhao R, Shetty A, Siniscalco D, Guo X, Khoshnevisan A, Hawamdeh Z. The 2020 Yearbook of Neurorestoratology. JOURNAL OF NEURORESTORATOLOGY 2021; 9:1-12. [PMID: 37387779 PMCID: PMC10289216 DOI: 10.26599/jnr.2021.9040002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 has been an emerging and rapidly evolving risk to people of the world in 2020. Facing this dangerous situation, many colleagues in Neurorestoratology did their best to avoid infection if themselves and their patients, and continued their work in the research areas described in the 2020 Yearbook of Neurorestoratology. Neurorestorative achievements and progress during 2020 includes recent findings on the pathogenesis of neurological diseases, neurorestorative mechanisms and clinical therapeutic achievements. Therapeutic progress during this year included advances in cell therapies, neurostimulation/neuromodulation, brain-computer interface (BCI), and pharmaceutical neurorestorative therapies, which improved neurological functions and quality of life for patients. Four clinical guidelines or standards of Neurorestoratology were published in 2020. Milestone examples include: 1) a multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of olfactory ensheathing cell treatment of chronic stroke showed functional improvements; 2) patients after transhumeral amputation experienced increased sensory acuity and had improved effectiveness in work and other activities of daily life using a prosthesis; 3) a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis used a steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI to achieve accurate and speedy computer input; 4) a patient with complete chronic spinal cord injury recovered both motor function and touch sensation with a BCI and restored ability to detect objects by touch and several sensorimotor functions. We hope these achievements motivate and encourage other scientists and physicians to increase neurorestorative research and its therapeutic applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hongyun Huang
- Beijing Hongtianji Neuroscience Academy, Beijing, 100143, China
| | - Lin Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Beijing, Beijing, 100007, China
| | - Michael Chopp
- Department of Neurology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA
- Department of Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA
| | - Wise Young
- Department of Cell Biochemistry and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA
| | - John Robert Bach
- Center for Ventilator Management Alternatives, University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Xijing He
- Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710004, Shaanxi, China
| | - Anna Sarnowaska
- Translational Platform for Regenerative Medicine & Cell Therapy Team of The Central Nervous System Diseases, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mengzhou Xue
- The Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Joint International Laboratory of Intracerebral Hemorrhagic Brain Injury, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China
| | - Robert Chunhua Zhao
- Center of Excellence in Tissue Engineering, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and School of Basic Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing Key Laboratory of New Drug Development and Clinical Trial of Stem Cell Therapy, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Ashok Shetty
- Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, USA
| | - Dario Siniscalco
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" via S. Maria di Costantinopoli, 16 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Xiaoling Guo
- Neurological Center, The 981 Hospital of PLA, Chengde, 067000, Hebei, China
| | | | - Ziad Hawamdeh
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| |
Collapse
|