Conclusions
pain
We found that tDCS over the rDLPFC could increase the functional connectivity of both the DAN and FPN, which are involved in attention, sensory perception, and information manipulation. The functional connectivity increase between the DAN and right parietal operculum was associated with placebo analgesia in the cathodal tDCS group, suggesting that employing cathodal tDCS might yield outcomes that are more consistent across participants than sham or anodal tDCS. Elucidating how repeated tDCS can modulate the brain network functional connectivity and its association with placebo / nocebo effects may shed light on our understanding of the placebo / nocebo mechanisms, as well as facilitate the development of new strategies for pain management.