Social Cognitive Impairments as a Target of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for Functional Outcomes in Schizophrenia

Abstract

Patients with schizophrenia suffer from impairments of social cognition that represent mental operations underlying real-world functioning. Pharmacological approaches have been attempted to overcome social cognitive disturbances of schizophrenia, but only yielded insufficient effects. As an alternative approach, some types of neuromodulations, particularly non-invasive brain stimulation, e.g., transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), have been drawing attention. While previous studies have performed anodal tDCS at the frontal brain regions, we hypothesized anodal stimulation at the temporal region would improve social cognitive function on the basis of the neural circuit governing it. Thus, our data indicate multisession tDCS delivered to the left superior temporal sulcus improves social cognition in patients with schizophrenia. In the present chapter, we overview studies of tDCS on social cognition and discuss optimal brain regions to be targeted for ameliorating symptoms and cognitive disturbances of schizophrenia.