The Effect of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation on the Downregulation of Negative Emotions: A Meta-Analysis

(1) Background: Emotion regulation (ER) is regarded as a core treatment target for depression and other mental illnesses. In recent years, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been extensively used as an intervention for mental illnesses, but there has been no systematic review conducted regard...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain sciences 2022-06, Vol.12 (6), p.786
Main Authors: Zhang, Qingqing, Li, Xiaoming, Liu, Xinying, Liu, Shanshan, Zhang, Mengzhu, Liu, Yueling, Zhu, Chunyan, Wang, Kai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achievement tests
Anxiety disorders
Autism
Behavior modification
Brain research
Electrodes
emotion regulation
Emotional regulation
Emotions
Intervention
Magnetic fields
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Meta-analysis
Neuroses
non-invasive brain stimulation
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Personality disorders
Psychotherapy
Questionnaires
Schizophrenia
Systematic Review
tDCS
TMS
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
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Summary:(1) Background: Emotion regulation (ER) is regarded as a core treatment target for depression and other mental illnesses. In recent years, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been extensively used as an intervention for mental illnesses, but there has been no systematic review conducted regarding its effect on emotion regulation. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of NIBS for emotion regulation; (2) Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library. We analyzed the effects of NIBS on tasks assessing emotion regulation using a random-effects model, and further explored the moderating role of the following factors on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) studies by conducting subgroup analyses and meta-regression: target electrode placement, return electrode placement, current intensity, target electrode size, and duration of intervention; (3) Results: A total of 17 studies were included. Our meta-analysis indicated a small but significant effect of NIBS on the downregulation of negative emotions. Separate analyses indicated that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) had a medium and significant effect on the downregulation of negative emotions, whereas tDCS had no significant effect. Subgroup analyses showed that the effect of tDCS was moderated by target and return electrode placemen; (4) Conclusions: These results indicate that NIBS had a positive effect on the downregulation of negative emotions. The stimulation protocols should be carefully considered and the underlying mechanisms should be further explored.
ISSN:2076-3425
2076-3425
DOI:10.3390/brainsci12060786