Treating Loneliness In The Older Adult With Depression With tDCS

Conditions studied

Major Depressive Disorder, Loneliness

About this study

High loneliness is prevalent among older adults and is a significant risk factor for major depression and low recovery rates in patients. Current interventions for loneliness are limited. Previous research has demonstrated a link between loneliness, negative social emotions, and reduced resting-state functional connectivity in the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and the default mode network (DMN). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has shown promise in enhancing emotional regulation and connectivity, potentially alleviating loneliness in older adults with depression.

Interventions

• Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the Left DLPFC — The tDCS parameters were set to a current of 2mA for a single session lasting 20 minutes. For stimulating the lDLPFC, the positive electrode was placed at position F3, and the negative electrode was placed in the right supraorbital area/FP2 (e.g., Dubreuil-Vall et al., 2021, Biol Psychiatry: CNNI).
• Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the right VLPFC — The tDCS parameters were set to a current of 2mA for a single session lasting 20 minutes. Based on the EEG 10-20 international system, the positive electrode for stimulating the rVLPFC was placed at position F6, while the negative electrode was placed in the left supraorbital area/FP1 (e.g., He et al., 2020, Psychol Med)
• Device: Sham stimulation group — The electrode positions were randomized to match those of the rVLPFC or lDLPFC groups, but the stimulation only lasted for the first 30 seconds.

Primary outcomes

• Change in loneliness levels from baseline measured by the UCLA Loneliness Scale from baseline (2 weeks, 1.5 months and 3.5 months)

Eligibility information

Study locations

• Guangzhou Brain Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510370 China