Mood Disorders: Clinical Results

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious condition, associated with significant morbidity and with substantial personal, social and economic impairment. Almost a third of patients are refractory to pharmacotherapy, reinforcing the need to develop new therapeutic strategies for MDD. tDCS can be an alternative for these patients, considering its tolerability, portability and ease of use. In this chapter, we review potential tDCS antidepressant mechanisms, as well as clinical evidence based on randomised sham-controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses. We conclude that tDCS in its current form is associated with modest though clinically significant antidepressant effects, and can be a safe and effective treatment strategy for unipolar depression. More studies are necessary for bipolar depression. Finally, future studies should focus on the development of strategies to identify characteristics of treatment responders and optimal stimulation parameters.