Objective: Identify the effect of tDCS targeting the vmPFC on empathy in persons with traits of psychopathic meanness by measuring effects on an empathy task.
ID
Source
Brief title
Condition
- Personality disorders and disturbances in behaviour
Synonym
Research involving
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
Main study parameters/endpoints: The main objective of the study is to
determine the effect of targeted tDCS on empathy ratings in persons with traits
of psychopathic meanness. Endpoint is the empathy rating of the aggressive
scenes after stimulation of the vmPFC.
Secondary outcome
The effect of gender and trait empathy on the primary outcomes.
Background summary
Rationale: Lack of empathy is a core characteristic in psychopathic personality
and found to be an important factor in the explanation of violence posed by
individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits. Because current
interventions based on cognitive and behavioural therapies seem not to be
effective yet in increasing empathy in these individuals, optimizing empathic
processing by neurophysiological interventions may be a promising alternative.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a form of non-invasive
electrical stimulation where a weak current is applied through electrodes over
the scalp. This stimulation is known to induce changes in neuronal excitability
in a polarity and site-specific manner, and facilitate motor and cognitive
learning. Evidence is accumulating that it can have a positive effect on
prefrontal functioning, including social cognition. However, no study directly
investigated to effect of tDCS on empathic processing in individuals with
psychopathic traits. Since the vmPFC is found to be of particular importance in
empathic processing, and found to be dysfunctional in psychopathy, we have the
aim of studying the stimulation of the vmPFC in empathy. The outcome of this
study can provide important guidelines on effective therapy for individuals
with psychopathic traits.
Study objective
Objective: Identify the effect of tDCS targeting the vmPFC on empathy in
persons with traits of psychopathic meanness by measuring effects on an empathy
task.
Study design
Study design: Double-blinded, between subjects, sham- controlled experimental
design. Healthy participants will be asked to visit the Erasmus behavioural Lab
at the Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies at the Erasmus
University Rotterdam.
Study burden and risks
Nature and extent of the burden and risks associated with participation,
benefit and group relatedness: There are no direct benefits for the
participants. There are no risks involved with participation. During each
visit, they will fill out different questionnaires and will receive tDCS
stimulation for 20 minutes. After stimulation they will perform an empathy task
with pictures depicting aggressive scenes. The total time of the session will
take 1.5 hours. *
Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
Rotterdam 3062 PA
NL
Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
Rotterdam 3062 PA
NL
Listed location countries
Age
Inclusion criteria
* Healthy
* Aged 18-55
* Right handedness
* Good understanding of the Dutch language.
Exclusion criteria
* History of neurological or psychiatric disorders
* History of neurosurgery
* Taking acute or chronic psychoactive drugs
* Alcoholism
Design
Recruitment
Medical products/devices used
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
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In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| CCMO | NL57813.078.16 |