Journal
CEREBRAL CORTEX
Volume 28, Issue 7, Pages 2636-2646Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy093
Keywords
dopamine; dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; positron emission tomography; striatum; transcranial direct current stimulation
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Funding
- Vinatier hospital, Bron, France
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A single transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) session applied over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLFPC) can be associated with procognitive effects. Furthermore, repeated DLPFC tDCS sessions are under investigation as a new therapeutic tool for a range of neuropsychiatric conditions. A possible mechanism explaining such beneficial effects is a modulation of meso-cortico-limbic dopamine transmission. We explored the spatial and temporal neurobiological effects of bifrontal tDCS on subcortical dopamine transmission during and immediately after the stimulation. In a double blind sham-controlled study, 32 healthy subjects randomly received a single session of either active (20min, 2 mA; n = 14) or sham (n = 18) tDCS during a dynamic positron emission tomography scan using [C-11] raclopride binding. During the stimulation period, no significant effect of tDCS was observed. After the stimulation period, compared with sham tDCS, active tDCS induced a significant decrease in [C-11] raclopride binding potential ratio in the striatum, suggesting an increase in extracellular dopamine in a part of the striatum involved in the reward-motivation network. The present study provides the first evidence that bifrontal tDCS induces neurotransmitter release in polysynaptic connected subcortical areas. Therefore, levels of dopamine activity and reactivity should be a new element to consider for a general hypothesis of brain modulation by bifrontal tDCS.
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