大象传媒

The 鈥淪topp Stemmer鈥� project began in 2016, funded by the faculty of psychology and the Trond Mohn Research Foundation. We used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a potential novel treatment to reduce听auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia patients. In tDCS, a very low electrical current (2mA) flows between two electrodes that are attached to the head.听It is non-invasive and听not painful. Patients were treated with tDCS twice a day with 20 minutes each and a three-hour break between the two sessions, for five consecutive days.听

To investigate the effect of the treatment, participants and clinicians completed a set of questionnaires and clinical assessment before, immediately after, and 3 months after treatment. At the same time points, participants also underwent neuroimaging to study structural and functional changes in the brain as well as changes in neurotransmitters. We published first results, showing that the treatment led to a small reduction in auditory hallucinations that, however, was not significantly better than placebo control. For more results, please see our publications below.

Publications:

• Marquardt, L., Craven, A. R., Hugdahl, K., Johnsen, E., Kroken, R. A., Kusztrits, I., Specht, K., Thomassen, A. S., Weber, S., &听Hirnstein, M.听(2022). Pilot-RCT Finds No Evidence for Modulation of Neuronal Networks of Auditory Hallucinations by Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation. Brain Sciences,听12(10), 1382.
  
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• Kusztrits, I., Toh, W. L., Thomas, N., Lar酶i, F., Meyers, D.,听Hirnstein, M., & Rossell, S. (2022). From core schemas about the self and others to voice phenomenology: Anxiety and depression affect voice hearers differently.听Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice,听95, 493-507.
  
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• Laloyaux, J., Hirnstein, M., Specht, K., Giersch, A., & Lar酶i, F. (2022, 2022/07/04). Eliciting false auditory perceptions using speech frequencies and semantic priming: a signal detection approach. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 27(4), 255-272.
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• Kusztrits, I., Marquardt, L., Hugdahl, K., &听Hirnstein, M.听(2021). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) enhances internal source monitoring abilities in healthy participants.听PLoS ONE, 16(9), e0257010.
  
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• Marquardt, L., Kusztrits, I., Craven, A. R., Hugdahl, K., Specht, K., &听Hirnstein, M. (2020). A multimodal study of the effects of tDCS on dorsolateral prefrontal and temporo-parietal areas during dichotic listening.听European Journal of Neuroscience,听53(2), 449-459.听
  
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• Kusztrits, I., Lar酶i, F., Laloyaux, J., Marquardt, L., Sinkeviciute, I., Kjelby, E., . . .听Hirnstein, M.听(2021). Mapping psychotic-like experiences: Results from an online survey.听Scandinavian Journal of Psychology,听62, 237-248.听