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

January 7, 2022 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

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

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.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

32

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • University of Pennsylvania

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

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

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 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

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Anodal stimulation
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 Comparator: Sham stimulation
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

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Pins Inserted Into a Virtual Voodoo Doll After 48 Hours
Time Frame: On average, 48 hours after the first 20-minute tDCS or sham session ends
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

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Adrian Raine, DPhil, University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 26, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 3, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

February 4, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 18, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 7, 2022

Last Verified

January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 823967

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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