NCT03036683

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Offenders

The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Risk-taking and Aggression in Offenders

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 41 (actual)
• Sponsor: Olivia Choy · Academic / Other
• Sex: Male
• Age: 18 Years – 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study investigates the effect of upregulating prefrontal cortex activity on risk-taking, and antisocial and aggressive behavior in violent offenders. In the double-blind, randomized controlled trial, using a within-subject crossover design, each participant will undergo anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and sham stimulation. After each stimulation session, neural activity and behavioral responses to tasks assessing risk-taking and aggressive behavior will be recorded. The effect of tDCS on violent offenders will also be assessed in comparison to age and gender-matched healthy controls.

Conditions

• Aggression
• Risk-Taking
• Antisocial Behavior

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Transcranial direct current stimulation	Transcranial direct current stimulation will be administered for 20 minutes using a CE approved stimulator (NeuroConn, Ilmenau, Germany).
DEVICE	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.

Timeline

• Start date: 2017-02-01
• Primary completion: 2021-06-01
• Completion: 2022-06-01
• First posted: 2017-01-30
• Last updated: 2022-10-18

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Germany