AUTHOR=Guleyupoglu Berkan , Febles Nicole , Minhas Preet , Hahn Christoph , Bikson Marom TITLE=Reduced discomfort during high-definition transcutaneous stimulation using 6% benzocaine JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroengineering VOLUME=7 YEAR=2014 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroengineering/articles/10.3389/fneng.2014.00028 DOI=10.3389/fneng.2014.00028 ISSN=1662-6443 ABSTRACT=

Background: High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) allows for non-invasive neuromodulation using an array of compact (approximately 1 cm2 contact area) “High-Definition” (HD) electrodes, as compared to conventional tDCS (which uses two large pads that are approximately 35 cm2). In a previous transcutaneous study, we developed and validated designs for HD electrodes that reduce discomfort over >20 min session with 2 mA electrode current.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a chemical pretreatment with 6% benzocaine (topical numbing agent) to further reduce subjective discomfort during transcutaneous stimulation and to allow for better sham controlled studies.

Methods: Pre-treatment with 6% benzocaine was compared with control (no pretreatment) for 22 min 2 mA of stimulation, with either CCNY-4 or Lectron II electroconductive gel, for both cathodal and anodal transcutaneous (forearm) stimulation (eight different combinations).

Results: Results show that for all conditions and polarities tested, stimulation with HD electrodes is safe and well tolerated and that pretreatment further reduced subjective discomfort.

Conclusion: Pretreatment with a mild analgesic reduces discomfort during HD-tDCS.