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Modulating risky decision‐making in Parkinson's disease by transcranial direct current stimulation
Author(s) -
Benussi A.,
Alberici A.,
Cantoni V.,
Manenti R.,
Brambilla M.,
Dell'Era V.,
Gazzina S.,
Manes M.,
Cristillo V.,
Padovani A.,
Cotelli M.,
Borroni B.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
european journal of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1468-1331
pISSN - 1351-5101
DOI - 10.1111/ene.13286
Subject(s) - transcranial direct current stimulation , medicine , parkinson's disease , neuroscience , physical medicine and rehabilitation , stimulation , current (fluid) , disease , psychology , electrical engineering , engineering
Background and purpose Performance on gambling tasks in Parkinson's disease ( PD ) is of particular interest, as pathological gambling is often associated with dopamine replacement therapy in these patients. We aimed to evaluate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation ( tDCS ) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex ( DLPFC ) in modulating gambling behaviour in PD . Methods We assessed the effects of cathodal tDCS over the right DLPFC during the Iowa Gambling Task in 20 patients with PD , compared with sham stimulation. We then conducted a second experimental design, assessing the effects of anodal tDCS over the right DLPFC. Results We observed that cathodal tDCS over the right DLPFC increased Iowa Gambling Task scores compared with sham stimulation. In the second experimental design, we did not find significant differences between anodal and sham tDCS . Conclusions Cathodal tDCS over the right DLPFC possibly reduces the pathological overdrive in frontostriatal networks in patients with PD on dopaminergic medication, thus modulating impulsive and risky decision‐making.