Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Antisocial Behavior

Aggression Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Prefrontal Cortex on Antisocial Behavior

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Active, not recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04204759
• Other study ID #: IRB-2019-06-072
• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: November 3, 2019
• Est. completion date: December 31, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: October 2022
• Source: Nanyang Technological University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The main objective of this study is to investigate the causal relationship between prefrontal cortex activity and antisocial behavior, as well as risk factors for antisocial behavior. Specifically, this study tests the hypothesis that upregulating activity in the prefrontal cortex through a non-invasive form of brain stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) will reduce antisocial and aggressive behavior. The effects of 3 days of anodal stimulation over the prefrontal cortex are assessed.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Enrollment: 101
• Est. completion date: December 31, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: May 1, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Above 18 (with parental consent) or above 21 (without parental consent)
• Able to understand the nature of the study and give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of or active neurologic, cardiovascular, or psychiatric disease including anxiety disorders (e.g., PTSD, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder) and mood disorders (e.g., depression)
• Currently consuming anti-convulsant, anti-psychotic, or sedative/hypnotic medications
• Currently consuming anti-depressants
• History of seizures
• Metallic implants on scalp
• Participated in any other non-invasive brain stimulation study in the same day
• Ever had an adverse reaction to tDCS

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Aggression
• Antisocial Personality Disorder

Intervention

Device:
• Transcranial direct current stimulation
Non-invasive stimulation will be conducted using a tDCS device (StarStim, Neuroelectrics, Spain).
• Sham transcranial direct current stimulation
The same device will be used as in the active stimulation group, but stimulation will be terminated after 30 seconds.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Singapore	Nanyang Technological University	Singapore

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Nanyang Technological University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Singapore, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Points in the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm after stimulation	The number of points earned on the lab task will be assessed.	Within 1 hour after the third consecutive active tDCS or sham session
Primary	Antisocial behavior inclinations after stimulation	This will be assessed using 5 hypothetical scenarios in which someone commits a criminal or antisocial act. Participants will respond to the likelihood that they would commit the act in the scenario according to a 10-point Likert scale. Responses are measured on a scale ranging from zero (no chance at all) to 10 (100% chance). A higher value reflects a greater intention to engage in the antisocial act.	Within 1 hour after the third consecutive active tDCS or sham session
Primary	Moral judgment ratings after stimulation	This will be assessed using 5 hypothetical scenarios in which someone commits a criminal or antisocial act. Participants will rate the moral wrongfulness of the act in the scenario on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 10 (very). A higher score reflects a greater perception of moral wrongfulness regarding the antisocial act.	Within 1 hour after the third consecutive active tDCS or sham session
Primary	Delay discounting rates after stimulation	Participants' responses to 5 questions indicating if they would prefer a smaller reward today or a larger reward in the specified number of days will be assessed. The delay discount rates (k) of monetary rewards will be calculated based on the responses to the 5 trials.	Within 1 hour after the third consecutive active tDCS or sham session
Primary	Helping behavior after stimulation	This will be assessed based on the number of easy and hard puzzles participants choose to assign to another participant in the study.	Within 1 hour after the third consecutive active tDCS or sham session
Primary	Antisocial behavior after stimulation	This will be assessed based on the participants' accurate reporting of the number of problems correctly solved in a task.	Within 1 hour after the third consecutive active tDCS or sham session
Secondary	Number of participants with adverse events	The number of participants reporting the experience of sensations resulting from tDCS will be recorded.	Within 1 hour after each of the 20-minute active tDCS or sham sessions