The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cognitive Rehabilitation and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Executive Functions of Combat Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Background: According to the fact that executive functions are set of interrelated skills that highly influence the standards of living of the surviving combat veterans, this research was conducted with the aim of examining the effect of cognitive rehabilitation and Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) on the executive functions of surviving combat veterans with PTSD. Methods: In quasi-experimental research, 60 combat veterans with PTSD in Kermanshah were chosen by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to four experimental groups (2 treatment groups, placebo/sham group, a control group). In order to collect data, the Barclays Psychological Performance Disorder Assessment Questionnaire (BDEFS), and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder List (Wooders et al. 1994) were applied. The obtained data were analyzed by applying Multivariable Analyze of Covariance. Results: The results of the Fisher's Least Significant Difference (LSD) Post-Hoc test showed that TDCS is more effective than Cognitive Rehabilitation in promoting self-control/ inhibition, self-motivation, emotion self-regulation, and total score of executive functions (P < 0.01) and (P < 0.05). Finally, the results indicated that the post-test results were repeated in the follow-up test and this represents the stability of the effectiveness of TDCS and Cognitive Rehabilitation on the mentioned constructs. Conclusions: The results of the current research can be used as a new approach to reduce the problems of veterans with PTSD, and enhance the quality of their life by improving their executive functioning.