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Ensafi E, atadokht A, Mikaeili N, Narimani M, Rostami R. (2019). The effectiveness of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with obsessive - compulsive disorder. Journal of Psychological Science. 18(73), 121-131.
URL: http://psychologicalscience.ir/article-1-93-en.html

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the disabling disorders associated with extensive personal and social costs. This disorder has a significant comorbidity with depression and anxiety disorders, and many of these patients do not respond to psychotherapy and medication. Thus can we develop a new and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to improve obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (c-tDCS) on obsessive-compulsive, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in patients with OCD. Method: Thirty OCD patients (15 patients in the experimental group and 15 patients in the placebo group) were selected by convenience sampling. In the intervention step, the experimental group received c-tDCS for 10 sessions (2 sessions per week, 20 minutes each session with 2 mA intensity) and the placebo subjects received the sham-tDCS. Subjects in both groups were evaluated using the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale(Goodman, 1989), the Hamilton anxiety rating scale(1959), and the Beck depression inventory(1978) in the first and tenth sessions. Results: The results of this study showed that the use of c-tDCS in orbitofrontal cortex and anodal transcranial direct current stimulation in O2 region resulted in significant reduction of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p<0/001), anxiety (p<0/003), and depression (p<0/004) in OCD patients. Conclusions: tDCS is an effective non-invasive technique for the improvement of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, anxiety, and depression in OCD patients.