tDCS & Attention Training in Anorexia Nervosa (CATION)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
CATION: tDCS & Attention Bias Modification Training in Anorexia Nervosa
IRAS ID
284809
Contact name
Ulrike Schmidt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 4 days
Research summary
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a life-threatening eating disorder characterised by an intense fear of weight gain and disturbed body image, which motivates severe dietary restriction or other weight loss behaviours (e.g. purging). Due to the lack of effective treatments for AN in adults, approximately 20% of people with AN develop a severe and enduring form of the illness (SE-AN).
Computerised attention bias modification training (ABMT) is a specific form of cognitive bias modification (CBM) that has been used to successfully treat mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, addictive disorders, and more recently in eating disorders (Hendrikse et al., 2015; Mercado et al., in prep). This technique involves several sessions of computerised training.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive treatment that uses electrical current to stimulate or dampen down areas of the brain known to contribute to medical or psychiatric conditions. In the UK, tDCS has been approved by NICE as an effective and safe treatment for depression and it is widely used in research with other conditions. It has been shown in a number of proof-of-concept and feasibility studies that tDCS can improve eating disorder and mood symptoms in people with AN over both the short- and longer-term (Costanzo et al., 2018; Khedr, Elfetoh, Ali & Noamany, 2014; Strumila et al., 2019). Expanding neuromodulation interventions into the home environment has been gaining traction has larger scale studies have shown safety and tolerability of tDCS when monitored by investigators (Cabrera & Reiner, 2015; O’Neill, Sacco & Nurmikko, 2015).
It is thought that delivering tDCS and ABMT at the same time may have a stronger effect on reducing eating disorder symptoms in people with AN than either of the treatments alone. Given that patients with AN are often ambivalent about treatment, reflected in poor take-up of certain treatments (e.g. pharmacological treatments that lead to weight gain) and high drop-out rates (DeJong et al., 2012), it is essential to understand whether at-home tDCS + ABMT can improve treatment adherence and retention. Thus, the central aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of administering 10 sessions of at-home tDCS in people with AN.
REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/0943
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion