Abstract
Studies examining event-related potentials (ERP) in patients affected by attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have found considerable evidence of reduced target P300 amplitude across different perceptual modalities. P300 amplitude has been related to attention-driven context comparison and resource allocation processes. Altered P300 amplitude in ADHD can be reasonably assumed to be related to ADHD typical cognitive performance deficits. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can increase the amplitude of endogenous brain oscillations. Because ERP components can be viewed as event-related oscillations (EROs), with P300 translating into the delta (0–4 Hz) and theta (4–8 Hz) frequency range, an increase of delta and theta ERO amplitudes by tACS should result in an increase of P300 amplitudes in ADHD patients. In this pilot study, 18 adult ADHD patients (7 female) performed three consecutive blocks of a visual oddball task while the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Patients received either 20 min of tACS or sham stimulation at a stimulation intensity of 1 mA. Individual stimulation frequency was determined using a time–frequency decomposition of the P300. Our preliminary results demonstrate a significant increase in P300 amplitude in the stimulation group which was accompanied by a decrease in omission errors pre-to-post tACS. However, studies including larger sample sizes are advised.
Highlights
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients have been consistently reported to show a reduction in P300 amplitude as compared to healthy controls
The most prominent finding of this study is the significant enhancement of P300 amplitude in the stimulation group as compared to sham
In line with our primary research hypothesis, the mean P300 amplitude of patients who received transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) stimulation within delta/theta frequency range was significantly increased after stimulation
Summary
ADHD patients have been consistently reported to show a reduction in P300 amplitude as compared to healthy controls This alteration of P300 was obtained in ADHD children (Gow et al 2012; Johnstone and Barry 1996; Senderecka et al 2012; Strandburg et al 1996; Tsai et al 2012), as well as in ADHD adults 20–75% of adults with ADHD do not respond sufficiently to medical treatment (Wilens et al 2012) and the discontinuation rate is high (Zetterqvist et al 2013) In this context, non-invasive brain stimulation is an attractive treatment alternative because of its safety profile (Antal et al 2017) and flexibility (Demirtas-Tatlidede et al 2013). Even though P300 has not been in the focus of treatment interventions for ADHD, its manipulation by ADHD treatment has been reported and been linked to the improvement of ADHD symptomatology (Jonkman et al 2007; Paul-Jordanov et al 2010; Schoenberg et al 2014; Zillessen et al 2001)
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