None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The overall aim of this research is to advance the knowledge of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in the treatment of OCD. A double-blind randomised controlled trial will be conducted involving active tDCS vs sham tDCS over the brain regions that have been implicated in OCD in a group of general OCD patients. We hypothesise that the participants receiving active tDCS will show clinically and statistically significant improvement in their OCD symptoms, their depression and anxiety symptoms, a reduction in obsessive beliefs and an increase in their quality of life compared to those receiving the sham condition. We also anticipate that there will be an improvement in the ability to inhibit impulses and think flexibly in those receiving the active tDCS.
Interventions
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): The participants randomly allocated to the active tDCS group will complete 10 sessions in total of tDCS stimulation spread over 4 weeks, attending the clinic 3 times per week. Each session will take 30 minutes to complete, allowing for set up and placement of the electrodes and 20-mins of stimulation. The participants will receive 20 minutes of stimulation using a constant current of 2mA. Cathodal stimulation will be applied over the left Orbit
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): The participants randomly allocated to the active tDCS group will complete 10 sessions in total of tDCS stimulation spread over 4 weeks, attending the clinic 3 times per week. Each session will take 30 minutes to complete, allowing for set up and placement of the electrodes and 20-mins of stimulation. The participants will receive 20 minutes of stimulation using a constant current of 2mA. Cathodal stimulation will be applied over the left Orbito Frontal Cortex to decrease neural activation, and anodal stimulation will be applied over the right pre-supplementary motor area to increase neural activation. These cortical areas will be located using the 10-20 international system for EEG placement. The Intervention will be administered by a post-graduate Clinical Psychology Trainee under the supervision of two senior academics with expertise in clinical and neuropsychology, and experience in tDCS delivery. Session attendance, and drop out will be monitored and noted for each client and included in the data set.
Sponsors
Curtin University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Caregiver)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
A clinical diagnosis of DSM-5 OCD using the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview. A Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) total score of > 16 (moderate to extreme).
Exclusion criteria
Include (1) Recent history of brain surgery, (2) active skin disease on the scalp, (3) history of migraine, (4) history of epilepsy, (5) unstable medical condition (e.g., uncontrolled diabetes), (6) participants who have initiated or changed SSRI/SRI dose in the last 12 weeks (7) metal implants in the head/brain, (8) currently using a hearing aid, (9) taking Lithium Carbonate, (10) currently undergoing exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder, and (11) high suicide/self-harm risk.
Outcome results
None listed