Schizophrenia

Abstract

This chapter proposes an overview of current evidence and future directions for using tDCS in schizophrenia. To date, the effects of tDCS have been investigated in three main outcomes: (1) to alleviate auditory verbal hallucinations using a frontotemporal tDCS montage (the anode placed over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex coupled with the cathode placed over the left temporoparietal junction); (2) to alleviate negative symptoms using a frontal montage (the anode placed over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex coupled with the cathode placed over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the right supraorbital region or extra-cephalically); and (3) to enhance cognitive functions, using different tDCS montages. Promising results have been reported for these three outcomes. tDCS can decrease the severity of symptoms such as auditory verbal hallucinations and negative symptoms by about 30 % and enhance a wide range of cognitive functions (e.g., working memory, self-monitoring, facial emotion recognition). However, most studies to date are case-reports and open labeled studies with small samples. Thus, large randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm the usefulness of tDCS in schizophrenia.