Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (Tdcs) As An Effective Treatment In Comparison With Video Game On Executive Functions In Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in contrast with video game on executive function in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Children (ADHD). Methodology: This study was an unblinded Randomized Control Trial with ADHD participants recruited from various schools of Patiala District in Punjab, India.  Participants were screened for ADHD using NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale and assessed for eligibility. Random allocation was done for 61 participants into two groups; control group (video game only) and intervention group (tDCS along with video game). tDCS was applied at F3 (anode) and Fp2 (cathode) positions at 1 mA intensity for 20 minutes thrice weekly for a duration of 4 weeks. Pre, Mid and Post (Day 0, 15, 30) Intervention scores for Raven’s Progressive Matrices, Stroop Test and Trail Making Test were evaluated for all the participants. Results: The present study had 61 participants aged 10-16 years were randomly allocated to the control and intervention groups. One way ANOVA was used to evaluate within group differences and unpaired t-test was used for between group analyses on different parameters with p<0.05 as level of significance.  Our analysis revealed that tDCS along with video game has a statistically significant effect on components of executive function as evaluated using Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) (t= 2.483, p= 0.01), Stroop test (t=3.507; p=0.001) and Trail Making Test (TMT) (TMT Part A t=3.238; p= 0.02), (TMT Part B t= 4.064; p=0.000) relative to that of control group. Conclusion: tDCS when compared with video game is effective in improving executive function in children with ADHD. It is recommended that a randomized control trial with larger sample size are needed to strengthen the findings from this study and overcome its limitations.