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Weidler C, Hofhansel L, Regenbogen C, Müller D, Clemens B, Montag C, Reif A, Habel U. The influence of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on prefrontal TDCS effects on aggression. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3437. [PMID: 38341445 PMCID: PMC10858895 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53930-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Increasing dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity by anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) enhances cognitive control and might reduce aggression. The Val158Met polymorphism within the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (rs4680) plays a pivotal role in prefrontal dopamine signaling, displaying associations with aggressive behavior, and potentially influencing the effects of tDCS. In a double-blind, sham-controlled study, we investigated the influence of rs4680 on tDCS effects on aggression. While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging, 89 healthy male participants performed the Taylor aggression paradigm before and immediately after tDCS. Actively stimulated participants (n = 45) received anodal tDCS (1.5 mA) for 20 min targeting the right DLPFC. Carriers of the val-allele (val+; n = 46; active tDCS n = 23) were compared to met-allele homozygotes (val-; n = 43; active tDCS n = 22). Analysis revealed decreased aggressive behavior in the val- group following active tDCS (p < 0.001). The val+ group showed increased aggression during the second session (p < 0.001) with an even higher increase following active as compared to sham tDCS (p < 0.001). No effects of stimulation or rs4680 on brain activation were found. Our study provides evidence for opposite tDCS effects on aggressive behavior in val-carriers and val-noncarriers. By shedding light on genetic factors predicting tDCS responsivity, the study will help to pave the way toward individualized-and thus more effective-tDCS treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Weidler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Lena Hofhansel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Christina Regenbogen
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Dario Müller
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Clemens
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Christian Montag
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Andreas Reif
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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Ai Y, Liu Y, Yin M, Zhang L, Luo J, Zhang S, Huang L, Zhang C, Liu G, Fang J, Zheng H, Li L, Hu X. Interactions between tDCS treatment and COMT Val158Met in poststroke cognitive impairment. Clin Neurophysiol 2024; 158:43-55. [PMID: 38176157 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2023.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the effect of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met to post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) and the interaction with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). METHODS Seventy-six patients with PSCI were randomly assigned to Group (1) (n = 38) to receive anodal tDCS of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or Group (2) (n = 38) to receive sham stimulation. The intensity of the tDCS was 2 mA, and the stimulations were applied over the left DLPFC for 10 sessions. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and backward digit span test (BDST) were assessed before, immediately after, and one month after stimulation. RESULTS After stimulation, patients in the tDCS group showed better improvement in both MoCA and BDST than those in the sham group. The results of GLMs also supported the main effects of tDCS on general cognitive function and working memory. Then we found that COMT genotype may have a main effect on the improvement of MoCA and BDST, and there may be an interaction between COMT genotype and tDCS in enhancing BDST. In contrast, BDNF genotype showed no significant main or interaction effects on any scales. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that tDCS can improve cognition after stroke. Gene polymorphisms of COMT can affect the efficacy of tDCS on PSCI, but BDNF may not. SIGNIFICANCE This study found that COMT Val158Met has an interaction on the efficacy of prefrontal tDCS in cognitive function, which provides reference for future tDCS research and clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinan Ai
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Yuanwen Liu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Mingyu Yin
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Liying Zhang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Jing Luo
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Shuxian Zhang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Li Huang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Chanjuan Zhang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Guirong Liu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Jie Fang
- Xiamen Humanity Rehabilitation Hospital, Xiamen 361009, Fujian Province, PR China.
| | - Haiqing Zheng
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Lili Li
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Xiquan Hu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, PR China.
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Leow LA, Marcos A, Nielsen E, Sewell D, Ballard T, Dux PE, Filmer HL. Dopamine Alters the Effect of Brain Stimulation on Decision-Making. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6909-6919. [PMID: 37648451 PMCID: PMC10573748 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1140-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Noninvasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), show promise in treating a range of psychiatric and neurologic conditions. However, optimization of such applications requires a better understanding of how tDCS alters cognition and behavior. Existing evidence implicates dopamine in tDCS alterations of brain activity and plasticity; however, there is as yet no causal evidence for a role of dopamine in tDCS effects on cognition and behavior. Here, in a preregistered, double-blinded study, we examined how pharmacologically manipulating dopamine altered the effect of tDCS on the speed-accuracy trade-off, which taps ubiquitous strategic operations. Cathodal tDCS was delivered over the left prefrontal cortex and the superior medial frontal cortex before participants (N = 62, 24 males, 38 females) completed a dot-motion task, making judgments on the direction of a field of moving dots under instructions to emphasize speed, accuracy, or both. We leveraged computational modeling to uncover how our interventions altered latent decisional processes driving the speed-accuracy trade-off. We show that dopamine in combination with tDCS (but not tDCS alone nor dopamine alone) not only impaired decision accuracy but also impaired discriminability, which suggests that these manipulations altered the encoding or representation of discriminative evidence. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first direct evidence implicating dopamine in the way tDCS affects cognition and behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT tDCS can improve cognitive and behavioral impairments in clinical conditions; however, a better understanding of its mechanisms is required to optimize future clinical applications. Here, using a pharmacological approach to manipulate brain dopamine levels in healthy adults, we demonstrate a role for dopamine in the effects of tDCS in the speed-accuracy trade-off, a strategic cognitive process ubiquitous in many contexts. In doing so, we provide direct evidence implicating dopamine in the way tDCS affects cognition and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Ann Leow
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Anjeli Marcos
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Esteban Nielsen
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - David Sewell
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Timothy Ballard
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Paul E Dux
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
| | - Hannah L Filmer
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia
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D'Urso G, Toscano E, Barone A, Palermo M, Dell'Osso B, Di Lorenzo G, Mantovani A, Martinotti G, Fornaro M, Iasevoli F, de Bartolomeis A. Transcranial direct current stimulation for bipolar depression: systematic reviews of clinical evidence and biological underpinnings. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2023; 121:110672. [PMID: 36332699 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2022.110672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [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: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Despite multiple available treatments for bipolar depression (BD), many patients face sub-optimal responses. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been advocated in the management of different conditions, including BD, especially in treatment-resistant cases. The optimal dose and timing of tDCS, the mutual influence with other concurrently administered interventions, long-term efficacy, overall safety, and biological underpinnings nonetheless deserve additional assessment. The present study appraised the existing clinical evidence about tDCS for bipolar depression, delving into the putative biological underpinnings with a special emphasis on cellular and molecular levels, with the ultimate goal of providing a translational perspective on the matter. Two separate systematic reviews across the PubMed database since inception up to August 8th 2022 were performed, with fourteen clinical and nineteen neurobiological eligible studies. The included clinical studies encompass 207 bipolar depression patients overall and consistently document the efficacy of tDCS, with a reduction in depression scores after treatment ranging from 18% to 92%. The RCT with the largest sample clearly showed a significant superiority of active stimulation over sham. Mild-to-moderate and transient adverse effects are attributed to tDCS across these studies. The review of neurobiological literature indicates that several molecular mechanisms may account for the antidepressant effect of tDCS in BD patients, including the action on calcium homeostasis in glial cells, the enhancement of LTP, the regulation of neurotrophic factors and inflammatory mediators, and the modulation of the expression of plasticity-related genes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the matter to concurrently provide a synthesis of the clinical evidence and an in-depth appraisal of the putative biological underpinnings, providing consistent support for the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of tDCS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giordano D'Urso
- Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Unit of Psychiatry and Psychology, Unit of Treatment Resistance in Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Clinical Department of Head and Neck, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy.
| | - Elena Toscano
- Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Unit of Psychiatry and Psychology, Unit of Treatment Resistance in Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Clinical Department of Head and Neck, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
| | - Annarita Barone
- Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Unit of Psychiatry and Psychology, Unit of Treatment Resistance in Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Clinical Department of Head and Neck, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
| | - Mario Palermo
- Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Unit of Psychiatry and Psychology, Unit of Treatment Resistance in Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Clinical Department of Head and Neck, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
| | - Bernardo Dell'Osso
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Luigi Sacco, Ospedale Luigi Sacco Polo Universitario, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, Milan, Italy; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Bipolar Disorders Clinic, Stanford University, CA, USA; CRC "Aldo Ravelli" for Neuro-technology & Experimental Brain Therapeutics, University of Milan, Italy
| | - Giorgio Di Lorenzo
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy; Psychiatric and Clinical Psychology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Mantovani
- Dipartimento di Medicina e Scienze della Salute "V. Tiberio" Università degli Studi del Molise, Campobasso, Italy; Dipartimento di Salute Mentale e delle Dipendenze, Azienda Sanitaria Regionale del Molise (ASReM), Campobasso, Italy
| | - Giovanni Martinotti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, Clinical Sciences, University Gabriele d'Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Italy; Department of Pharmacy, Pharmacology, Clinical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Herts, UK
| | - Michele Fornaro
- Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Unit of Psychiatry and Psychology, Unit of Treatment Resistance in Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Clinical Department of Head and Neck, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
| | - Felice Iasevoli
- Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Unit of Psychiatry and Psychology, Unit of Treatment Resistance in Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Clinical Department of Head and Neck, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
| | - Andrea de Bartolomeis
- Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Unit of Psychiatry and Psychology, Unit of Treatment Resistance in Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Clinical Department of Head and Neck, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
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Wischnewski M, Mantell KE, Opitz A. Identifying regions in prefrontal cortex related to working memory improvement: A novel meta-analytic method using electric field modeling. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 130:147-161. [PMID: 34418436 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Altering cortical activity using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to improve working memory (WM) performance. Due to large inter-experimental variability in the tDCS montage configuration and strength of induced electric fields, results have been mixed. Here, we present a novel meta-analytic method relating behavioral effect sizes to electric field strength to identify brain regions underlying largest tDCS-induced WM improvement. Simulations on 69 studies targeting left prefrontal cortex showed that tDCS electric field strength in lower dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann area 45/47) relates most strongly to improved WM performance. This region explained 7.8 % of variance, equaling a medium effect. A similar region was identified when correlating WM performance and electric field strength of right prefrontal tDCS studies (n = 18). Maximum electric field strength of five previously used tDCS configurations were outside of this location. We thus propose a new tDCS montage which maximizes the tDCS electric field strength in that brain region. Our findings can benefit future tDCS studies that aim to affect WM function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miles Wischnewski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States.
| | - Kathleen E Mantell
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Alexander Opitz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
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Ahrens S, Laux J, Müller C, Thiel CM. Increased dopamine availability magnifies nicotine effects on cognitive control: A pilot study. J Psychopharmacol 2020; 34:548-556. [PMID: 32133910 PMCID: PMC7370651 DOI: 10.1177/0269881120907989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES The ability to adapt to new task demands flexibly and to stabilise performance in the presence of distractors is termed cognitive control and is mediated by dopaminergic and cholinergic neurotransmission. We aimed to test the hypothesis that the effect of the cholinergic agonist nicotine on cognitive control depends on baseline dopamine levels. METHODS Thirty-eight healthy non-smokers (16 males; Mage=24.05 years) performed a cognitive control task including distractor and switch trials twice. Subjects were split into two parallel groups. One group received 2 g of L-tyrosine two hours prior to testing to manipulate dopamine availability experimentally, while the other group received placebo on both days. One hour later, both groups received in a within-subject design: on one day, a 7 mg nicotine patch; on the other day, a matched placebo. Response time costs for distractor and switch trials served as measures of cognitive stability and flexibility. RESULTS Nicotinic modulation reduced response time costs in switch trials and increased costs in distractor trials (nicotine×condition, p=0.027) with a trend-wise interaction between nicotine, L-tyrosine and trial type (nicotine×L-tyrosine×condition, p=0.068), which was due to stronger nicotine effects under L-tyrosine. CONCLUSIONS Our data provide preliminary evidence that nicotine has opponent effects on cognitive stability and flexibility. Subjects who received the dopamine precursor L-tyrosine were more prone to nicotine effects on behaviours, which are improvements in cognitive flexibility at the cost of decreased cognitive stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Ahrens
- Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany,Stefan Ahrens, Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstr. 114-118, Oldenburg, 26111, Germany. Emails: ;
| | - Joana Laux
- Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Christina Müller
- Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Christiane M Thiel
- Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany,Cluster of Excellence ‘Hearing4all’, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany,Research Centre Neurosensory Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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Brunoni AR, Carracedo A, Amigo OM, Pellicer AL, Talib L, Carvalho AF, Lotufo PA, Benseñor IM, Gattaz W, Cappi C. Association of BDNF, HTR2A, TPH1, SLC6A4, and COMT polymorphisms with tDCS and escitalopram efficacy: ancillary analysis of a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 42:128-135. [PMID: 31721892 PMCID: PMC7115450 DOI: 10.1590/1516-4446-2019-0620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We investigated whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with neuroplasticity and activity of monoamine neurotransmitters, such as the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF, rs6265), the serotonin transporter (SLC6A4, rs25531), the tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1, rs1800532), the 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A (HTR2A, rs6311, rs6313, rs7997012), and the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT, rs4680) genes, are associated with efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in major depression. METHODS Data from the Escitalopram vs. Electrical Current Therapy for Treating Depression Clinical Study (ELECT-TDCS) were used. Participants were antidepressant-free at baseline and presented with an acute, moderate-to-severe unipolar depressive episode. They were randomized to receive escitalopram/tDCS-sham (n=75), tDCS/placebo-pill (n=75), or placebo-pill/sham-tDCS (n=45). General linear models assessed the interaction between treatment group and allele-wise carriers. Additional analyses were performed for each group and each genotype separately. RESULTS Pairwise group comparisons (tDCS vs. placebo, tDCS vs. escitalopram, and escitalopram vs. placebo) did not identify alleles associated with depression improvement. In addition, exploratory analyses also did not identify any SNP unequivocally associated with improvement of depression in any treatment group. CONCLUSION Larger, combined datasets are necessary to identify candidate genes for tDCS response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andre R Brunoni
- Departamento de Medicina Interna, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Angel Carracedo
- Grupo de Medicina Xenómica/Pharmacogenetics Research, Laboratorio SSL1, Centro Singular de Investigación en Medicina Molecular y Enfermedades Crónicas (CiMUS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Olalla M Amigo
- Grupo de Medicina Xenómica/Pharmacogenetics Research, Laboratorio SSL1, Centro Singular de Investigación en Medicina Molecular y Enfermedades Crónicas (CiMUS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Ana L Pellicer
- Grupo de Medicina Xenómica/Pharmacogenetics Research, Laboratorio SSL1, Centro Singular de Investigación en Medicina Molecular y Enfermedades Crónicas (CiMUS), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Leda Talib
- Laboratório de Neurociências (LIM-27) and Instituto Nacional de Biomarcadores em Psiquiatria (INBION), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Andre F Carvalho
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto & Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Canada
| | - Paulo A Lotufo
- Departamento de Medicina Interna, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Isabela M Benseñor
- Departamento de Medicina Interna, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Wagner Gattaz
- Laboratório de Neurociências (LIM-27) and Instituto Nacional de Biomarcadores em Psiquiatria (INBION), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Carolina Cappi
- Programa Transtornos do Espectro Obsessivo-Compulsivo, Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Jongkees BJ, Loseva AA, Yavari FB, Nitsche MA, Colzato LS. The COMT Val 158 Met polymorphism does not modulate the after-effect of tDCS on working memory. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 49:263-274. [PMID: 30402947 PMCID: PMC6590637 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can alter cortical excitability, neural plasticity, and cognitive-behavioral performance; however, its effects are known to vary across studies. A partial account of this variability relates to individual differences in dopamine function. Indeed, dopaminergic manipulations alter the physiological and cognitive-behavioral effects of tDCS, and gene polymorphisms related to dopamine have predicted individual response to online tDCS (i.e., stimulation overlapping with the critical task). Notably, the role of individual differences in dopamine has not yet been properly assessed in the effect of offline tDCS (i.e., stimulation prior to the critical task). We investigated if and how the COMT Val158 Met polymorphism (rs4680) modulates the after-effect of prefrontal tDCS on verbal working memory (WM). One hundred and thirty-nine participants were genotyped for the COMT Val158 Met polymorphism and received anodal-over-left, cathodal-over-right (AL-CR), cathodal-over-left, anodal-over-right (CL-AR), or sham stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in a between-subjects, pretest-posttest study design. WM was assessed using the N-back task. The results provide no evidence that the COMT polymorphism impacts the after-effect of prefrontal tDCS on WM. Taken together with previous findings on dopamine and tDCS interactions, the results of the present study suggest that (a) indirect markers of dopamine (such as COMT) are differently related to online and offline effects of tDCS, and (b) findings from studies involving pharmacological manipulation should be generalized with caution to findings of inter-individual differences. In sum, we argue that state (i.e., a manipulation of) and trait (i.e., baseline) differences in dopamine may exert different effects on online and offline tDCS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryant J. Jongkees
- Cognitive Psychology Unit & Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Alexandra A. Loseva
- Cognitive Psychology Unit & Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Fatemeh B. Yavari
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human FactorsDortmundGermany
| | - Michael A. Nitsche
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human FactorsDortmundGermany
- Department of Clinical NeurophysiologyGeorg‐August University GöttingenGöttingenGermany
- Department of NeurologyUniversity Medical Hospital BergmannsheilBochumGermany
| | - Lorenza S. Colzato
- Cognitive Psychology Unit & Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive PsychologyFaculty of PsychologyInstitute of Cognitive NeuroscienceRuhr University BochumBochumGermany
- Institute for Sports and Sport ScienceUniversity of KasselKasselGermany
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