Figure 4.
Side effect incidence and severity does not affect compliance of individual subjects. The occurrence of common side effects (skin tingling = A1–C1, skin itching = A2–C2, and skin burning sensation = A3–C3) is plotted as a percentage against the total number of treatment sessions completed for each subject by experimental groups (sham-tDCS n = 37, tDCS n = 33, and MHF-tPCS n = 30). There was no correlation between percentage of side effects reported by subjects and the total number of treatment sessions they completed. The average severity of side effects (skin tingling = X1–Z1, skin itching = X2–Z2, and skin burning sensation = X3–Z3) is plotted against the number of sessions completed by each subject. There was no correlation between average side effect severity and the total sessions completed. Subject withdrawals for atypical headache, atypical skin irritation, and discomfort are indicated by the symbols purple X, yellow-square, and red-triangle, respectively. Since only a few subjects withdrew due to atypical headache, atypical skin condition, or discomfort in sham-tDCS, tDCS, and MHF-tPCS treatment groups, no trends can be inferred based on severity, incidence, or total sessions completed. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)