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Review
. 2018 May 6;8(5):81.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci8050081.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): A Promising Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder?

Djamila Bennabi  1 , Emmanuel Haffen  2
Affiliations
Review

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): A Promising Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder?

Djamila Bennabi et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) opens new perspectives in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), because of its ability to modulate cortical excitability and induce long-lasting effects. The aim of this review is to summarize the current status of knowledge regarding tDCS application in MDD. Methods: In this review, we searched for articles published in PubMed/MEDLINE from the earliest available date to February 2018 that explored clinical and cognitive effects of tDCS in MDD. Results: Despite differences in design and stimulation parameters, the examined studies indicated beneficial effects of tDCS for MDD. These preliminary results, the non-invasiveness of tDCS, and its good tolerability support the need for further research on this technique. Conclusions: tDCS constitutes a promising therapeutic alternative for patients with MDD, but its place in the therapeutic armamentarium remains to be determined.

Keywords: cognition; depression; transcranial direct current stimulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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