The impact of tDCS on rumination: a systematic review of the sham-controlled studies among healthy and clinical samples

Hoebeke, Yorgo [UCL] Ozcimen, Hacer Betul Heeren, Alexandre [UCL]

Rumination describes perseverative, passive, self-focused thinking about the content, causes, and consequences of one’s affective state, without taking any problem-solving action. Broadly considered as a transdiagnostic feature of psychological disorders, rumination is associated with slower treatment response, lower rates of recovery, and higher rates of relapse. Accordingly, research has focused on the development of rumination-focused treatment. Recently, transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a potential promising new tool for targeting rumination. tDCS is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique, which can be used to selectively disrupt patterns of neural activity that are associated with psychological processes. Yet, study-to-study variations in stimulation and research protocols preclude a comprehensive understanding of the impact of tDCS on rumination. The main goal of this systematic review is to assess the sham-controlled studies, conducted among both healthy and clinical samples, investigating the effectiveness of tDCS in reducing rumination, and identifying the most desirable combination of stimulation parameters and research protocols to do so.