Rubia, K.; Westwood, S.; Aggensteiner, P.-M.; Brandeis, D. Neurotherapeutics for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Review. Cells2021, 10, 2156.
Rubia, K.; Westwood, S.; Aggensteiner, P.-M.; Brandeis, D. Neurotherapeutics for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Review. Cells 2021, 10, 2156.
Rubia, K.; Westwood, S.; Aggensteiner, P.-M.; Brandeis, D. Neurotherapeutics for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Review. Cells2021, 10, 2156.
Rubia, K.; Westwood, S.; Aggensteiner, P.-M.; Brandeis, D. Neurotherapeutics for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Review. Cells 2021, 10, 2156.
Abstract
This review focuses on the evidence for neurotherapeutics for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). EEG-Neurofeedback has been tested for about 45 years with latest meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials (RCT) showing small/medium effects compared to non-active controls only. Three small studies piloted neurofeedback of frontal activations in ADHD using functional magnetic resonance imaging or near-infrared spectroscopy, finding no superior effects over control conditions. Brain stimulation has been applied to ADHD using mostly repetitive transcranial magnetic and direct current stimulation (rTMS/tDCS). rTMS has shown mostly negative findings on improving cognition or symptoms. Meta-analyses of tDCS studies targeting mostly dorsolateral prefrontal cortex show small effects on cognitive improvements with only two out of three studies showing clinical improvements. Trigeminal nerve stimulation has shown to improve ADHD symptoms with medium effect in one RCT. Modern neurotherapeutics are attractive due to their relative safety and potential neuroplastic effects. However, they need to be thoroughly tested for clinical and cognitive efficacy across settings and beyond core symptoms and for their potential for individualised treatment.
Keywords
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); Neurofeedback; EEG-Neurofeedback; fMRI-Neurofeedback; brain stimulation; transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS); transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS).
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Immunology and Allergy
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
