114.4 Neuromodulation for the Treatment of Schizophrenia: A Review and Future Directions

Abstract

Background: The limited effectiveness of medications especially in domains such as cognition has bolstered the investigation of other treatment approaches for schizophrenia. Cognitive training approaches in schizophrenia have been proposed as an intervention to improve cognition. However, effect sizes for cognitive training have been modest and generalization of the cognitive training to untrained tasks has been limited. Methods: Another treatment approach that has gained ground is the use of neuromodulation methods such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). TDCS has been shown to enhance neuroplasticity and has been studied as either a primary or augmentation therapy. Results: Much of the work examining enhancement of cognition with tDCS has been done with healthy subjects with single or just a handful of sessions, limiting their generalizability to schizophrenia. As these neuromodulation methods have the ability to impact brain activity, examining how they infu-ence brain networks is of great interest for understanding how they work and who are most likely to beneft. There is increasing appreciation that the context during which neuromodulation is performed in important. Conclusion: In this presentation, the use of tDCS in schizophrenia will be reviewed and speculation of future directions will be ventured.