The Effect of Transcranial Brain Stimulation on the Clinical Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Background and Objectives: Various psychological, biological and pharmacological interventions are used to treat the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Today, Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) is among the biologic therapies that ave attracted the attention of researchers due to its cost-effectiveness and lack of side effects is, which works by stimulating neurons on the surface of the brain. Therefore, the present research aimed to assess the effect of TDCS on improving the clinical symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental research was performed with a pretest-posttest design with a control group and follow-up. This study was performed on children with ADHD in Rafsanjan City, Iran. Among them, ۱۶ people were selected as a sample using convenience sampling method and were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups in equal numbers. For the intervention group, Transcranial direct current stimulation was performed, while the control group received no intervention. Data was collected through the standard Swanson Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Questionnaire (۱۹۸۰) and repeated measures analysis of variance was employed for data analysis in Amos-۲۴ software. Results: Based on the findings, in the intervention group, the clinical symptoms of hyperactivity after receiving the intervention, at the posttest stage, were significantly reduced compared to before receiving the intervention (P<۰.۰۱), while this difference in the Control group was not significant. The findings also revealed that the reduction of clinical symptoms of hyperactivity in the experimental group at the follow-up stage was stable (p <۰.۰۱). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it can be said that transcranial direct current stimulation is effective in improving the clinical symptoms of ADHD.