Network-targeted transcranial direct current stimulation of the hypothalamus appetite-control network: a feasibility study

The hypothalamus is the key regulator for energy homeostasis and is functionally connected to striatal and cortical regions vital for the inhibitory control of appetite. Hence, the ability to non-invasively modulate the hypothalamus network could open new ways for the treatment of metabolic diseases...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 11341
Main Authors:	Ester-Nacke, Theresa, Berti, Katharina, Veit, Ralf, Dannecker, Corinna, Salvador, Ricardo, Ruffini, Giulio, Heni, Martin, Birkenfeld, Andreas L., Plewnia, Christian, Preissl, Hubert, Kullmann, Stephanie
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 18-05-2024 Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio
Subjects:	631/378/1488/1562 631/378/1488/393 631/378/2649/2150 Adult Appetite Appetite - physiology Appetite Regulation - physiology Cross-Over Studies Eating behavior Electrical stimulation of the brain Energy balance ESB Excitability Feasibility Studies Female Homeostasis Humanities and Social Sciences Humans Hypothalamus Hypothalamus - physiology Male Metabolic disorders Middle Aged multidisciplinary Neostriatum Nerve Net - physiology Neural networks Obesity - physiopathology Obesity - therapy Reaction Time - physiology Reaction time task Science Science (multidisciplinary) Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation - methods
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Summary:	The hypothalamus is the key regulator for energy homeostasis and is functionally connected to striatal and cortical regions vital for the inhibitory control of appetite. Hence, the ability to non-invasively modulate the hypothalamus network could open new ways for the treatment of metabolic diseases. Here, we tested a novel method for network-targeted transcranial direct current stimulation (net-tDCS) to influence the excitability of brain regions involved in the control of appetite. Based on the resting-state functional connectivity map of the hypothalamus, a 12-channel net-tDCS protocol was generated (Neuroelectrics Starstim system), which included anodal, cathodal and sham stimulation. Ten participants with overweight or obesity were enrolled in a sham-controlled, crossover study. During stimulation or sham control, participants completed a stop-signal task to measure inhibitory control. Overall, stimulation was well tolerated. Anodal net-tDCS resulted in faster stop signal reaction time (SSRT) compared to sham ( p = 0.039) and cathodal net-tDCS ( p = 0.042). Baseline functional connectivity of the target network correlated with SSRT after anodal compared to sham stimulation ( p = 0.016). These preliminary data indicate that modulating hypothalamus functional network connectivity via net-tDCS may result in improved inhibitory control. Further studies need to evaluate the effects on eating behavior and metabolism.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2045-2322 2045-2322
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-024-61852-3