Table 3.
Means and SDs of outcome variables before and after the tDCS
| Measure | Outcome variable | Time | active tDCS | sham tDCS | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M (SD) | M (SD) | ||||
| quality of life (MSIS) | Score | Pre-intervention | 51.20 (19.19) | 51.41 (13.94) | 0.972 |
| Post-intervention | 41.93 (11.74) | 51.94 (16) | |||
| DASS | Depression | Pre-intervention | 3.73 (2.34) | 6.11 (6.14) | 0.168 |
| Post-intervention | 2.06 (2.25) | 6.76 (6.41) | |||
| Anxiety | Pre-intervention | 3 (1.73) | 3.64 (4.10) | 0.575 | |
| Post-intervention | 1.60 (1.88) | 4 (4.54) | |||
| Stress | Pre-intervention | 6.73 (2.81) | 7.58 (4.89) | 0.575 | |
| Post-intervention | 4.53 (3.64) | 8.29 (5.35) | |||
| Sleep | Total score | Pre-intervention | 13.20 (4.37) | 11.29 (3.78) | 0.197 |
| Post-intervention | 7.26 (1.62) | 11.58 (3.90) | |||
| Insomnia | Pre-intervention | 6.46 (2.79) | 5.17 (1.55) | 0.112 | |
| Post-intervention | 3.46 (0.83) | 5.35 (1.65) | |||
| Oversleep | Pre-intervention | 6.73 (2.52) | 6.11 (2.71) | 0.513 | |
| Post-intervention | 3.80 (1.08) | 6.23 (2.88) | |||
| RTI | 5-choice movement time | Pre-intervention | 1491.37 (313.24) | 1384.99 (448.08) | 0.406 |
| Post-intervention | 825.54 (294.49) | 1294.09 (404.63) | |||
| 5-choice reaction time | Pre-intervention | 967.30 (415.51) | 987.08 (346.31) | 0.876 | |
| Post-intervention | 779.37 (392.55) | 1037.36 (338.37) | |||
| Simple movement time | Pre-intervention | 711.15 (208.95) | 626.94 (226.50) | 0.247 | |
| Post-intervention | 448.67 (157.16) | 638.68 (191.55) | |||
| Simple reaction time | Pre-intervention | 457.59 (101.29) | 428.05 (112.48) | 0.406 | |
| Post-intervention | 273.69 (86.51) | 450.4 (102.97) | |||
| SWM | Strategy | Pre-intervention | 31.947 (5.83) | 32.44 (5.90) | 0.798 |
| Post-intervention | 30.526 (6.73) | 33.27 (5.53) | |||
| Total error | Pre-intervention | 28.84 (23.59) | 25.11 (24.83) | 0.642 | |
| Post-intervention | 15.47 (12.23) | 19.94 (10.87) | |||
| RVP | Hits | Pre-intervention | 14.947 (4.08) | 15.27 (4.05) | 0.807 |
| Post-intervention | 18.736 (3.61) | 14.38 (4.13) | |||
| Mean latency | Pre-intervention | 837.90 (88.39) | 470.72 (127.81) | < 0.001 | |
| Post-intervention | 538.33 (114.37) | 480.73 (149.82) |
Note tDCS = transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; M = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation; MSIS = Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (quality of life); DASS = Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale; MSQ = Mini Sleep Questionnaire; RTI = Reaction time test; SWM = Spatial Working Memory; RVP = Visual Information Processing; p values refer to baseline (pre-intervention) measurement comparisons using ANOVA tests