Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation as an Effective Treatment Compared to Video Games on Executive Functions in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) compared to video games on executive functions in children with attention deficit hyperactivity children (ADHD).

This was an unblinded randomized control trial study with ADHD participants recruited from various schools in Patiala District in Punjab, India. The participants were screened for ADHD using the NICHQ Vanderbilt assessment scale and then they were assessed for eligibility. The random allocation method was done for 61 participants and they were divided into two groups: the control group (video game only) and the intervention group (tDCS along with video game). tDCS was applied at the F3 (anode) and Fp2 (cathode) positions with 1 mA intensity for 20 min 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Pre-, mid-, and post- (day 0, 15, 30) intervention scores for the Raven progressive matrices, the Stroop test, and the trail making test were evaluated for all the participants.

The present study had 61 participants in the age range of 10 to 16 years. They were randomly allocated to control and intervention groups. One-way analysis of variance was used to evaluate within-group differences and an unpaired t test was utilized for between-group analyses on different parameters with P<0.05 as the level of significance. Our analysis revealed that tDCS along with video games has a statistically significant effect on components of executive functions as evaluated via the Raven progressive matrices (t=2.483, P=0.01), the Stroop test (t=3.507, P=0.001) and the trail making test (TMT Part A: t=3.238, P=0.02; TMT Part B: t=4.064, P=0.000) compared to the control group.

When compared with video games, tDCS is effective in improving executive functions in children with ADHD. A randomized control trial with a larger sample size is needed to strengthen the findings of this study and overcome its limitations.