Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42595848›Full record

ArticleNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology2026

The effect of theta-gamma coupling on response to cognitive remediation combined with transcranial direct current stimulation in older adults at high risk for dementia: a PACt-MD secondary analysis.

Heather Brooks, Mina Mirjalili, Clement Ma, Daniel M Blumberger, Christopher R Bowie, Corinne E Fischer, Alastair J Flint, Nathan Herrmann, Sanjeev Kumar, Krista Lanctôt and 6 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02386670 (Prevention of Alzheimer's Dimentia With Cognitive Remediation Plus Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Depression), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02386670 naactive not recruitingnot on this map

Prevention of Alzheimer's Dimentia With Cognitive Remediation Plus Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Depression

TypeinterventionalSponsorCentre for Addiction and Mental HealthRan2015 to 2026Enrolled375ConditionsMild Cognitive Impairment, Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent, In Remission, Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode, in Full RemissionArmstDCS + CR, sham tDCS + sham CR
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Heather BrooksCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Mina MirjaliliCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Clement MaCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Daniel M BlumbergerCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8422-5818
Christopher R BowieCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Corinne E FischerDepartment of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Alastair J FlintDepartment of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Nathan HerrmannDepartment of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sanjeev KumarCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Krista LanctôtDepartment of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Linda MahDepartment of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Benoit MulsantCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0303-6450
Bruce G PollockCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0802-3998
Nicole SchoerCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Reza ZomorrodiCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Tarek K RajjiCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada. Tarek.Rajji@UTSouthwestern.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8324-2560

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The PACt-MD study demonstrated that combined cognitive remediation (CR) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) slows global cognitive decline in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or remitted major depressive disorder (rMDD) over a median follow-up of four years. Prefrontal theta-gamma coupling (TGC), measured via electroencephalography (EEG), is a marker of prefrontal cortical function and may index cognitive compensation, the mechanism thought to underlie CR+tDCS effects. This secondary analysis investigated whether baseline TGC influenced the efficacy of CR+tDCS, hypothesizing that participants with high baseline TGC-indicating better prefrontal function-would benefit more from CR+tDCS than those with low baseline TGC. TGC was assessed during an N-back task at baseline in 260 participants (mean age=71.9, SD = 6.0) and dichotomized by median split into high vs low groups. Cognition was evaluated two months post-baseline and annually up to six years. Baseline TGC significantly moderated the effects of CR+tDCS on global cognition (χ²=12.46, p = 0.006), verbal memory (χ²=16.93, p = 0.0007), and executive function (χ²=18.57, p = 0.0003). In the high-TGC group, global cognition declined more slowly with active CR+tDCS compared to sham. No such difference was observed in the low-TGC group. Lower baseline TGC may reflect reduced capacity for cognitive compensation, limiting CR+tDCS effectiveness in at-risk older adults. Higher TGC may identify those most likely to benefit from this intervention. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02386670.

Identifiers

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.