Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have revealed the capability to augment various types of behavioural interventions. We aimed to augment the effects of mindfulness, suggested for reducing anxiety, with concurrent use of tDCS. We conducted a double-blind randomized study with 58 healthy individuals. We introduced treadmill walking for focused meditation and active or sham tDCS on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 20 min. We evaluated outcomes using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State Anxiety (STAI) before the intervention as well as immediately, 60 min, and 1 week after the intervention, and current density from electroencephalograms (EEG) before and after the intervention. The linear mixed-effect models demonstrated that STAI-state anxiety showed a significant interaction effect between 1 week after the intervention and tDCS groups. As for alpha-band EEG activity, the current density in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) was significantly reduced in the active compared with the sham stimulation group, and a significant correlation was seen between changes in STAI-trait anxiety and the current density of the rACC in the active stimulation group. Our study provided that despite this being a one-shot and short intervention, the reduction in anxiety lasts for one week, and EEG could potentially help predict its anxiolytic effect.
Highlights
Transcranial direct current stimulation have revealed the capability to augment various types of behavioural interventions
The results of this study revealed an interaction effect between Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and time, and that State Anxiety (STAI)-SA scores were significantly decreased at 1 week after active tDCS
We found that the current density of alpha activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) was significantly decreased in the active tDCS group only, and this reduction was significantly larger in the active than in the sham tDCS group
Summary
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have revealed the capability to augment various types of behavioural interventions. It has been suggested that individuals need to develop their ability to cope with mental stress in advance[4] In this context, mindfulness meditation is gaining attention for its ability to calm the hyperactivity that is increasingly common in modern society. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) have become widely accepted medical interventions for anxiety disorders and depression in the recent decade[5,6]. These skills can take weeks and sometimes years to acquire. To address this problem, a recent study aimed to facilitate the early acquisition of mindfulness through the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)[7]. Anxiety is often followed by anxious content of the mind-wandering[15], and it is important to prevent the occurrence of mind-wandering
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