Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a well-established noninvasive brain stimulation tool that allows to stimulate the cerebral cortex. In the current chapter, we examined all available research using this neurostimulation technique for the treatment of specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and generalized anxiety disorder. Overall, our work provides preliminary evidence that both excitatory stimulation of the left prefrontal cortex and inhibitory stimulation of the right prefrontal cortex can reduce symptom severity in anxiety disorders, although the low number of high-quality investigations in this field does not allow to make definite conclusions.