Hanken, Katrin and Bosse, Mona and Möhrke, Kim and Eling, Paul and Kastrup, Andreas and Antal, Andrea and Hildebrandt, Helmut (2016) Counteracting fatigue in multiple sclerosis with right parietal anodal transcranial direct current stimulation. Frontiers in neurology, 7. ISSN 1664-2295

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Abstract

Background: Fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients appears to correlate with vigilance decrement as reflected in an increase in reaction time (RT) and errors with prolonged time-on-task. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right parietal or frontal cortex counteracts fatigue-associated vigilance decrement and subjective fatigue. Methods: In study I, a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, anodal tDCS (1.5 mA) was delivered to the right parietal cortex or the right frontal cortex of 52 healthy participants during the first 20 min of a 40-min lasting visual vigilance task. Study II, also a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, investigated the effect of anodal tDCS (1.5 mA) over the right parietal cortex in 46 MS patients experiencing cognitive fatigue. tDCS was delivered for 20 min before patients performed a 20-min lasting visual vigilance task. Results: Study I showed that right parietal stimulation, but not right frontal stimulation, counteracts the increase in RT associated with vigilance decrement. Hence, only right parietal stimulation was applied to the MS patients in study II. Stimulation had a significant effect on vigilance decrement in mildly to moderately cognitively fatigued MS patients. Vigilance testing significantly increased the feeling of fatigue independent of stimulation. Conclusion: Anodal tDCS over the right parietal cortex can counteract the increase in RTs during vigilance performance, but not the increase in subjective fatigue. This finding is compatible with our model of fatigue in MS, suggesting a dissociation between the feeling and the behavioral characteristics of fatigue.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Publiziert mit Hilfe des DFG-geförderten Open Access-Publikationsfonds der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	multiple sclerosis, vigilance decrement, subjective fatigue, anodal tDCS, right parietal cortex, right frontal cortex
Subjects:	Philosophy and psychology > Psychology Technology, medicine, applied sciences > Medicine and health
Divisions:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Department of Psychology
Date Deposited:	20 Sep 2017 08:51
Last Modified:	13 Dec 2017 12:33
URI:	https://oops.uni-oldenburg.de/id/eprint/3273
URN:	urn:nbn:de:gbv:715-oops-33548
DOI:	10.3389/fneur.2016.00154
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