Boosting Psychotherapy With Noninvasive Brain Stimulation: The Whys and Wherefores of Modulating Neural Plasticity to Promote Therapeutic Change

Abstract

The phenomenon of neural plasticity pertains to the intrinsic capacity of neurons to undergo structural and functional reconfigu-ration through learning and experiential interaction with the environment. These changes could manifest themselves not only as a consequence of various life experiences but also following therapeutic interventions, including the application of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) and psychotherapy. As standalone therapies, both NIBS and psychotherapy have demonstrated their efficacy in the amelioration of psychiatric disorders’ symptoms, with a certain variability in terms of effect sizes and duration. Consequently, scholars suggested the convenience of integrating the two interventions into a multimodal treatment to boost and prolong the therapeutic outcomes. Such an approach is still in its infancy, and the physiological underpinnings substantiating the effectiveness and utility of combined interventions are still to be clarified. Therefore, this opinion paper aims to provide a theoretical framework consisting of compelling arguments as to why adding NIBS to psychotherapy can promote therapeutic change. Namely, we will discuss the physiological effects of the two interventions, thus providing a rationale to explain the potential advantages of a combined approach.