The Effect of Repeated Prefrontal Cortex Stimulation on Antisocial and Aggressive Behavior

NCT02674516 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: 823967
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 32
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study investigates the relationship between prefrontal cortex activity and antisocial and aggressive behavior, and risk factors for such behavior. In the double-blind, randomized controlled trial, participants will undergo three sessions of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or sham stimulation and complete survey and laboratory measures assessing antisocial behavior and risk factors. Heart rate and skin conductance will also be measured.

Conditions

Antisocial Behavior; Aggression

Keywords

antisocial behavior; aggression; transcranial direct current stimulation; dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; associated risk factors

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Number of Pins Inserted Into a Virtual Voodoo Doll After 48 Hours

  The number of pins (between 0 and 51) that participants decide to insert into a picture of a voodoo doll on a computer that represents either a romantic partner or close friend will be recorded.

  On average, 48 hours after the first 20-minute tDCS or sham session ends

Study Arms (2)

Anodal stimulation

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the active stimulation group will undergo 3 sessions of anodal bilateral transcranial direct stimulation (tDCS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on three consecutive days. tDCS will be delivered by a battery-driven, constant-current stimulator connected to three saline-soaked surface sponge electrodes. Two anodal electrodes (25cm2) will be placed over the DLPFC bilaterally and one cathodal electrode (35cm2) will be placed at the back of the neck. Scalp electrodes will be positioned over the F3 and F4 according to the 10-20 EEG international system. A current of 2mA (1mA at each DLPFC site) will be applied for 20 minutes and the current will be ramped up and down at the beginning and end of the stimulation period.

Device: Transcranial direct current stimulation

Sham stimulation

SHAM COMPARATOR

The sham transcranial direct current stimulation condition will involve the same placement of the electrodes, current intensity, and ramp time as the real tDCS condition, but stimulation will only last for 30 seconds.

Device: Sham transcranial direct current stimulation

Interventions

Transcranial direct current stimulation DEVICE

Anodal stimulation

Sham transcranial direct current stimulation DEVICE

Sham stimulation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Above 18 years of age
• Able to understand the nature of the study and give informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Currently consuming anti-convulsant, anti-psychotic, or sedative/hypnotic medications
• Currently consuming anti-depressants
• History of seizures
• Metallic implants on the scalp
• Participation in other transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or tDCS experiments on the same day
• History of adverse reactions to tDCS

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Pennsylvania: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Antisocial Personality Disorder; Aggression

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personality Disorders; Mental Disorders; Aberrant Motor Behavior in Dementia; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Social Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation Therapy; Therapeutics; Convulsive Therapy; Psychiatric Somatic Therapies; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Electroshock; Psychological Techniques

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Olivia Choy
• Organization: Nanyang Technological University

oliviachoy@ntu.edu.sg

(65) 65921522

Study Officials

• Adrian Raine, DPhil

  University of Pennsylvania

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 26, 2016
• First Posted: February 4, 2016
• Study Start: January 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2020
• Study Completion: June 1, 2021
• Last Updated: January 18, 2022
• Results First Posted: January 18, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)