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. 2022 Dec 2:9:1070157.
doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.1070157. eCollection 2022.

Anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation reduces heart rate and modulates heart-rate variability in healthy young people: A randomized cross-controlled trial

Zhongke Gu  1 , Wenxiang Chen  2 , Qian Lu  3 , Jiansong Dai  1 , Shugang Hu  4 , Kai Xu  1 , Yao Geng  5 , Ye Zhu  5 , Boqing Xu  5 , Wenjun Dai  5 , Ying Shen  5
Affiliations

Anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation reduces heart rate and modulates heart-rate variability in healthy young people: A randomized cross-controlled trial

Zhongke Gu et al. Front Cardiovasc Med. .

Abstract

Objective: To investigate whether anodal high-definition transcranial current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over the left dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC) could modulate the heart rate (HR) and heart-rate variability (HRV) in healthy young people.

Methods: Forty healthy young people were enrolled in this randomized crossover trial. The participants were randomized to receive anodal HD-tDCS (n = 20) or sham HD-tDCS (n = 20) over the left DLPFC with a washout period of 1 week. Electrocardiogram (ECG) data were continuously recorded 20 min before the stimulation, during the session (20 min), and 20 min after the session. HR and the time- and frequency-domain indices of the HRV were measured to investigate the activity of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

Results: Anodal HD-tDCS over the left DLPFC induced a significant decrease in HR and a significant increase in the average of normal-to-normal intervals (AVG NN), low-frequency (LF) power, total power (TP), and LF/high-frequency (HF) ratio in comparison with the sham stimulation and the baseline. However, sham HD-tDCS over the left DLPFC had no significant effect on HR or HRV.

Conclusions: Anodal HD-tDCS over the left DLPFC could reduce HR and modulate the HRV in healthy young people. HD-tDCS may show some potential for acutely modulating cardiovascular function.

Keywords: cardiac rhythm; dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex; heart rate; heart-rate variability; high-definition transcranial current stimulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experiment design. The HR and HRV data were measured at baseline (20 min before the HD-tDCS session). Subsequently, the participants were randomized to receive anodal HD-tDCS (2 mA) or sham HD-tDCS over the left DLPFC, and electrocardiogram recordings were obtained throughout the intervention. One week later, the interventions were swapped (A). The after-effects were measured by evaluating the HR and HRV within 20 min post-treatment (B).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Brain modulation during HD-tDCS using the 4 × 1 ring configuration. According to the International 10-20 system, the anodal electrode was placed at F3. The four cathodal electrodes were placed on AF3, F5, FC3 and F1. The current intensity was 2 mA (A). For each plane, we estimated the theoretical current flow in terms of the modeled electric field normal component (nE, V/m) at the cortex of the HD-tDCS electrode array by Soterix HD-Explore. Blue indicates zero electric field (0 V/m), while red indicates peak magnitude (0.15 V/m) (B).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Evolution of heart rate. The figure shows the intervention × time interaction for HR. Effect of the intervention on AVG IHR. Graphs show the mean values with error bars indicating 95% confidence intervals. The red line represents the Anodal HD-tDCS group and the black line represents the sham stimulation group.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Evolution of time-domain heart rate variability. (A) Effect of the intervention on SDNN. Graphs show the mean values with error bars indicating 95% confidence intervals. (B) Effect of the intervention on AVG NN. Graphs show the mean values with error bars indicating 95% confidence intervals. (C) Effect of the intervention on pNN50. Graphs show the median values with error bars indicating 95% confidence intervals. (D) Effect of the intervention on MIN NN. Graphs show the median values with error bars indicating 95% confidence intervals. (E) Effect of the intervention on MAX NN. Graphs show the median values with error bars indicating 95% confidence intervals. The red line represents the Anodal HD-tDCS group and the black line represents the sham stimulation group.
Figure 5
Figure 5
AVG NN interval and AVG IHR comparing Anodal HD-tDCS (A) vs sham HD-tDCS (B). The red dash represents AVG IHR and the blue dash represents AVG NN.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Evolution of frequency-domain heart rate variability. (A) Effect of the intervention on LF. Graphs show the median values with error bars indicating the 95% confidence intervals. (B) Effect of the intervention on HF. Graphs show the median values with error bars indicating the 95% confidence intervals. (C) Effect of the intervention on TP. Graphs show the median values with error bars indicating the 95% confidence intervals. (D) Effect of the intervention on LF/HF. Graphs show the median values with error bars indicating the 95% confidence intervals. Asterisk indicates that the intervention differed at the between-group level at this time point (p < 0.05), double asterisks at 0.01 level. The red line represents the Anodal HD-tDCS group and the black line represents the sham stimulation group.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Power spectrum. The sampling rate of the ECG was 1000 Hz. There is an increment of the power during the stimulation using anodal HD-tDCS compared to sham HD-tDCS. The red solid line represents the anodal HD-tDCS group and the blue dashed line represents the sham stimulation group.
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