High-Intensity Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation for Emotion Regulation and Attentional Bias in Adolescents With Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

What is the therapeutic efficacy of 77.5-Hz, 15-milliampere high-intensity transcranial alternating current stimulation (HI-tACS) in ameliorating the core cognitive-emotional deficits in adolescents with major depressive disorder and comorbid nonsuicidal self-injury?In this randomized clinical trial enrolling 60 adolescents, the twice-daily 15-day HI-tACS intervention was associated with significant improvements in emotion regulation, reduced attentional bias toward NSSI-related cues, and alleviated depressive symptoms compared with sham stimulation.The findings of this proof-of-concept trial indicate that HI-tACS targets the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of nonsuicidal self-injury, providing a promising, rapidly acting, and clinically feasible neuromodulation strategy for this underserved, high-risk patient population.

Corresponding Authors: Heng Wu, DrMed, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Tongji Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 389 Xincun Road, Shanghai 200065, China (hengwu@tongji.edu.cn); Xiaobin Ding, PhD, School of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu Province, China (258488908@qq.com).

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