Weak Direct Current Stimulation: A New Prospect in William Syndrome Disorder with Regard to Social Fear
William’s syndrome is a multifaceted, unique syndrome, in which patients develop notable hypersociability and neurocognitive characteristics. In humans, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can enhance or diminish cortical excitability, which can modulate social cognition and behavior. The present knowledge suggests the involvement of dysfunctional neural circuitry and abnormal cortical excitability in neurodevelopmental disorder. The insight of tDCS to influence cortical excitability via membrane polarization constitutes a main breakthrough in our understanding of the changes in the brain states. In recent past, neuromodulatory effects of tDCS with regard to fear have been encouraged targeting the learning and memory processes. Nevertheless, until today tDCS studies with respect to fear and anxiety disorder has been very restricted. Consequently, in the near future, it will require special attention and further exploration. In this article author would like to suggest the potential of using tDCS to counter social fear in William’s syndrome.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), Neuropsychiatric Disorder, William’s Syndrome, Neuromodulation, Social Fear
[1]
Asthana M, Nueckel K, Muhlberger A, Neueder D, Polak T, Domschke K, et al (2013). Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on consolidation of fear memory. Frontiers in psychiatry 4: 107.
[2]
Bardi L, Kanai R, Mapelli D, Walsh V (2013). Direct current stimulation (tDCS) reveals parietal asymmetry in local/global and salience-based selection. Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior 49(3): 850-860.
[3]
Baroncelli L, Braschi C, Spolidoro M, Begenisic T, Maffei L, Sale A (2011). Brain plasticity and disease: a matter of inhibition. Neural plasticity 2011: 286073.
[4]
Bellaiche L, Asthana M, Ehlis A-C, Polak T, Herrmann MJ (2013). The Modulation of Error Processing in the Medial Frontal Cortex by Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation. Neuroscience Journal 2013: 10.
[5]
Boggio PS, Campanha C, Valasek CA, Fecteau S, Pascual-Leone A, Fregni F (2010). Modulation of decision-making in a gambling task in older adults with transcranial direct current stimulation. The European journal of neuroscience 31(3): 593-597.
[6]
Boggio PS, Sultani N, Fecteau S, Merabet L, Mecca T, Pascual-Leone A, et al (2008). Prefrontal cortex modulation using transcranial DC stimulation reduces alcohol craving: a double-blind, sham-controlled study. Drug and alcohol dependence 92(1-3): 55-60.
[7]
Bose A, Shivakumar V, Narayanaswamy JC, Nawani H, Subramaniam A, Agarwal SM, et al (2014). Insight facilitation with add-on tDCS in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia research 156(1): 63-65.
[8]
Brunoni AR, Nitsche MA, Bolognini N, Bikson M, Wagner T, Merabet L, et al (2012). Clinical research with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS): challenges and future directions. Brain stimulation 5(3): 175-195.
[9]
Brunoni AR, Valiengo L, Baccaro A, et al. (2013). The sertraline vs electrical current therapy for treating depression clinical study: Results from a factorial, randomized, controlled trial. JAMA Psychiatry 70(4): 383-391.
[10]
Chanda ML, Levitin DJ (2013). The neurochemistry of music. Trends in cognitive sciences 17(4): 179-193.
[11]
Derntl B, Habel U (2011). Deficits in social cognition: a marker for psychiatric disorders? European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience 261 Suppl 2: S145-149.
[12]
Ditye T, Jacobson L, Walsh V, Lavidor M (2012). Modulating behavioral inhibition by tDCS combined with cognitive training. Experimental brain research 219(3): 363-368.
[13]
Dubljevic V, Saigle V, Racine E (2014). The rising tide of tDCS in the media and academic literature. Neuron 82(4): 731-736.
[14]
Dykens EM (2003). Anxiety, fears, and phobias in persons with Williams syndrome. Developmental neuropsychology 23(1-2): 291-316.
[15]
Ewart AK, Morris CA, Atkinson D, Jin W, Sternes K, Spallone P, et al (1993). Hemizygosity at the elastin locus in a developmental disorder, Williams syndrome. Nature genetics 5(1): 11-16.
[16]
Fecteau S, Fregni F, Boggio PS, Camprodon JA, Pascual-Leone A (2010). Neuromodulation of decision-making in the addictive brain. Substance use & misuse 45(11): 1766-1786.
[17]
Fregni F, Boggio PS, Nitsche MA, Marcolin MA, Rigonatti SP, Pascual-Leone A (2006). Treatment of major depression with transcranial direct current stimulation. Bipolar disorders 8(2): 203-204.
[18]
Fregni F, Orsati F, Pedrosa W, Fecteau S, Tome FA, Nitsche MA, et al (2008). Transcranial direct current stimulation of the prefrontal cortex modulates the desire for specific foods. Appetite 51(1): 34-41.
[19]
Fregni F, Pascual-Leone A (2007). Technology insight: noninvasive brain stimulation in neurology-perspectives on the therapeutic potential of rTMS and tDCS. Nature clinical practice Neurology 3(7): 383-393.
[20]
Gillespie CF, Phifer J, Bradley B, Ressler KJ (2009). Risk and resilience: genetic and environmental influences on development of the stress response. Depression and anxiety 26(11): 984-992.
[21]
Gothelf D, Farber N, Raveh E, Apter A, Attias J (2006). Hyperacusis in Williams syndrome: characteristics and associated neuroaudiologic abnormalities. Neurology 66(3): 390-395.
[22]
Haas BW, Mills D, Yam A, Hoeft F, Bellugi U, Reiss A (2009). Genetic influences on sociability: heightened amygdala reactivity and event-related responses to positive social stimuli in Williams syndrome. The Journal of neuroscience: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 29(4): 1132-1139.
[23]
Haas BW, Reiss AL (2012). Social brain development in williams syndrome: the current status and directions for future research. Frontiers in psychology 3: 186.
[24]
Holzschneider K, Mulert C (2011). Neuroimaging in anxiety disorders. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience 13(4): 453-461.
[25]
Jacobson L, Javitt DC, Lavidor M (2011). Activation of inhibition: diminishing impulsive behavior by direct current stimulation over the inferior frontal gyrus. Journal of cognitive neuroscience 23(11): 3380-3387.
[26]
Lai G, Pantazatos SP, Schneider H, Hirsch J (2012). Neural systems for speech and song in autism. Brain 135(3): 961-975.
[27]
Levitin DJ, Menon V, Schmitt JE, Eliez S, White CD, Glover GH, et al (2003). Neural correlates of auditory perception in Williams syndrome: an fMRI study. NeuroImage 18(1): 74-82.
[28]
Leyfer O, Woodruff-Borden J, Mervis CB (2009). Anxiety disorders in children with Williams syndrome, their mothers, and their siblings: Implications for the etiology of anxiety disorders. Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders 1(1): 4-14.
[29]
Marshall L, Molle M, Hallschmid M, Born J (2004). Transcranial direct current stimulation during sleep improves declarative memory. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 24(44): 9985-9992.
[30]
Meyer-Lindenberg A, Mervis CB, Berman KF (2006). Neural mechanisms in Williams syndrome: a unique window to genetic influences on cognition and behaviour. Nature reviews Neuroscience 7(5): 380-393.
[31]
Meyer-Lindenberg A, Mervis CB, Sarpal D, Koch P, Steele S, Kohn P, et al (2005). Functional, structural, and metabolic abnormalities of the hippocampal formation in Williams syndrome. The Journal of clinical investigation 115(7): 1888-1895.
[32]
Miles JH (2011). Autism spectrum disorders[mdash]A genetics review. Genet Med 13(4): 278-294.
[33]
Mungee A, Kazzer P, Feeser M, Nitsche MA, Schiller D, Bajbouj M (2014). Transcranial direct current stimulation of the prefrontal cortex: a means to modulate fear memories. Neuroreport 25(7): 480-484.
[34]
Ng R, Jarvinen A, Bellugi U (2014). Characterizing associations and dissociations between anxiety, social, and cognitive phenotypes of Williams syndrome. Res Dev Disabil 35(10): 2403-2415.
[35]
Ng R, Lai P, Levitin DJ, Bellugi U (2013a). Musicality Correlates With Sociability and Emotionality in Williams Syndrome. Journal of mental health research in intellectual disabilities 6(4): 268-279.
[36]
Ng R, Lai P, Levitin DJ, Bellugi U (2013b). Musicality Correlates With Sociability and Emotionality in Williams Syndrome. J Ment Health Res Intellect Disabil 6(4): 268-279.
[37]
Nickerson E, Greenberg F, Keating MT, McCaskill C, Shaffer LG (1995). Deletions of the elastin gene at 7q11.23 occur in approximately 90% of patients with Williams syndrome. American journal of human genetics 56(5): 1156-1161.
[38]
Nitsche MA, Fricke K, Henschke U, Schlitterlau A, Liebetanz D, Lang N, et al (2003). Pharmacological modulation of cortical excitability shifts induced by transcranial direct current stimulation in humans. The Journal of physiology 553(Pt 1): 293-301.
[39]
Oberman LM, Ramachandran VS (2007). The simulating social mind: the role of the mirror neuron system and simulation in the social and communicative deficits of autism spectrum disorders. Psychological bulletin 133(2): 310-327.
[40]
Olsson A, Phelps EA (2007). Social learning of fear. Nature neuroscience 10(9): 1095-1102.
[41]
Penolazzi B, Di Domenico A, Marzoli D, Mammarella N, Fairfield B, Franciotti R, et al (2010). Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on episodic memory related to emotional visual stimuli. PloS one 5(5): e10623.
[42]
Pripfl J, Neumann R, Köhler U, Lamm C (2013). Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on risky decision making are mediated by ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ decisions, personality, and hemisphere. European Journal of Neuroscience 38(12): 3778-3785.
[43]
Rushworth MFS, Mars RB, Sallet J (2013). Are there specialized circuits for social cognition and are they unique to humans? Current Opinion in Neurobiology 23(3): 436-442.
[44]
Singh R, Asthana M (2014). Opinion Article: Fear learning and Childhood Autism. International Journal of Psychosocial Research 3(2):
[45]
Stone DB, Tesche CD (2009). Transcranial direct current stimulation modulates shifts in global/local attention. Neuroreport 20(12): 1115-1119.
[46]
Yerys BE, Kenworthy L, Jankowski KF, Strang J, Wallace GL (2013). Separate components of emotional go/no-go performance relate to autism versus attention symptoms in children with autism. Neuropsychology 27(5): 537-545.