Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Neuropsychological Outcomes in Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Addiction: Cognitive Mechanisms, Clinical Efficacy, and Protocol Optimization

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques, particularly transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), are increasingly used to study and treat neuropsychiatric disorders and addictions. By modulating cortical excitability, they offer a window into the neural networks supporting cognitive control, craving, and emotional regulation, and a means of changing how those networks perform. Yet the field faces persistent challenges: treatment protocols are not standardized, individual variability in response is poorly understood, and the mechanisms behind therapeutic effects remain unclear. A central gap is that clinical improvement is often reported without a corresponding account of what changed cognitively. Whether stimulation restores inhibitory control, sharpens attention, or improves working memory, and whether these cognitive changes drive or merely accompany symptom relief, is rarely measured with the rigor that neuropsychological assessment affords. Bridging basic neurobiology and clinical practice requires placing cognitive and behavioral outcomes at the center of how NIBS is evaluated.This Research Topic aims to characterize how NIBS modulates cognitive and behavioral function in neuropsychiatric and addictive disorders, and to link these changes to neural mechanisms and clinical outcomes. We seek clinical trials, mechanistic studies, and methodological papers in which the effects of tDCS and TMS are assessed with standardized neuropsychological measures of executive function, inhibitory control, attention, working memory, and decision-making, alongside symptom and craving measures. We particularly welcome work identifying cognitive and neurophysiological predictors of treatment response, comparing stimulation parameters in terms of their cognitive as well as clinical effects, evaluating the cognitive safety and tolerability of protocols, and examining long-term outcomes in diverse clinical populations. The intended result is an evidence base in which protocol optimization is guided not only by symptom reduction but by measurable improvement in the cognitive functions these disorders impair.We welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Mechanisms of tDCS and TMS in modulating craving, cognitive control, and neuropsychological performance in addiction- Cognitive and clinical efficacy of NIBS in major depressive disorder, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders: effects on executive function, attention, memory, and emotion regulation assessed with standardized neuropsychological measures- Predictors of individual response to brain stimulation: baseline neuropsychological profile, EEG and fMRI markers, and their integration- Combined approaches pairing NIBS with cognitive remediation, cognitive behavioral therapy, or pharmacological interventions, with cognitive outcomes as primary or secondary endpoints- Cognitive safety and tolerability: neuropsychological side-effects of stimulation protocols, including home-use and remote delivery, and their ethical implications- Comparative studies of stimulation parameters (frequency, duration, electrode placement, target) in terms of both clinical and cognitive outcomes- Methodological work on neuropsychological assessment design in NIBS trials: sensitivity to change, practice effects, and selection of cognitive endpointsAll submissions should report at least one cognitive, behavioral, or functional outcome measured with a validated instrument; neuroimaging and neurophysiological data are welcome as mechanistic context. We encourage Original Research, Methods, Systematic Reviews, Perspectives, and Brief Research Reports. Topic editors: Chris Baeken, PASQUALE CAPONNETTO Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86327/non-invasive-brain-stimulation-and-neuropsychological-outcomes-in-neuropsychiatric-disorders-and-addiction-cognitive-mechanisms-clinical-efficacy-and-protocol-optimization