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Novel Form of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Improves ADHD Symptoms in Children
High-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), applied with cognitive training, had a lasting positive effect on symptoms in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study published online in Translational Psychiatry.
“Our findings have scientific, as well as potentially clinical implications for pediatric ADHD … and support the efficacy of tRNS + CT in improving ADHD symptoms,” researchers wrote. “The relatively maintained effects of short duration of treatment, along with its excellent safety profile, allow adding its translation to a potential standard-of-care that should be examined further carefully.”
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The randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial included 23 unmedicated children with ADHD at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. Among the participants, 11 received tRNS, a novel form of transcranial electrical stimulation that delivers stimulation via 2 excitatory electrodes. The intervention “presumably amplifies neural responses via the mechanism of stochastic resonance,” wrote corresponding author Roi Cohen Kadosh, PhD, of the University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom, and study coauthors.
The remaining 12 participants received sham treatment as a control. Both tRNS and sham were combined with cognitive training and delivered 5 consecutive days a week over a 2-week period.
Compared with the control intervention, tRNS plus cognitive training significantly decreased parent-reported ADHD rating scale scores, according to the study.
“Of note,” researchers wrote, “the effect size found here is comparable to that of pharmacologically effective treatment (eg, SMD of −0.78 for methylphenidate for a repeated intake over 12 weeks).”
The improvement in parent-reported ADHD symptoms lasted through a follow-up assessment 3 weeks later.
“This improvement was accompanied by changes in periodic RS-EEG [resting-state electroencephalogram] activity, of reduced bandwidth of extracted peaks in beta in the frontal area following active treatment, with further reduction at a 3-week follow-up,” researchers wrote. “Moreover, a trend for lower aperiodic exponent was seen in frontal midline area following treatment.”
Children who received tRNS had longer sleep onset latencies and more wake-up times after treatment compared with children who received sham treatment, the study found. Adverse effects were minimal and similar between treatments.
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