The Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (T DCS) on increase Cognitive Flexibility and Processing Speed among children with Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity (ADHD)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the direct transcranial electrical stimulation (T DCS) for enhancing cognitive flexibility and processing speed in ADHD children. This research was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test, and a control group. The statistical population of the study included all children with ADHD who referred to behavioral disorders treatment centers and clinics in Urmia during the first three months of the year. Thirty children with ADHD referring to the Omid Pioneer Clinic in Urmia during the first three months of Spring in the year 2019 were selected by the simple random sampling method. Two experimental and control groups were included. The two groups completed the Wechsler processing speed test and cognitive flexibility before and after the intervention. The experimental group was exposed to the direct electrical stimulation of the skull (TDCS) for 10 sessions, each lasting for 10 minutes. The data were analyzed by SPSS 19 software using the univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance. Results of the covariance analysis showed that the TDCS intervention was effective for increasing the cognitive flexibility (P <0.05) and processing speed (P <0.05) in children with ADHD. Based on the results, it can be stated that the direct transcutaneous electrical stimulation therapy (TDCS) is one of the applied therapies in enhancing executive functions such as cognitive flexibility and processing speed in ADHD children.