Enhancing Working Memory Training with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1419-1432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacky Au ◽  
Benjamin Katz ◽  
Martin Buschkuehl ◽  
Kimberly Bunarjo ◽  
Thea Senger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
The Right

Working memory (WM) is a fundamental cognitive ability that supports complex thought but is limited in capacity. Thus, WM training interventions have become very popular as a means of potentially improving WM-related skills. Another promising intervention that has gained increasing traction in recent years is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a noninvasive form of brain stimulation that can modulate cortical excitability and temporarily increase brain plasticity. As such, it has the potential to boost learning and enhance performance on cognitive tasks. This study assessed the efficacy of tDCS to supplement WM training. Sixty-two participants were randomized to receive either right prefrontal, left prefrontal, or sham stimulation with concurrent visuospatial WM training over the course of seven training sessions. Results showed that tDCS enhanced training performance, which was strikingly preserved several months after training completion. Furthermore, we observed stronger effects when tDCS was spaced over a weekend break relative to consecutive daily training, and we also demonstrated selective transfer in the right prefrontal group to nontrained tasks of visual and spatial WM. These findings shed light on how tDCS may be leveraged as a tool to enhance performance on WM-intensive learning tasks.

Working Memory Training and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

2019 ◽  
pp. 105-130
Author(s):  
Jacky Au ◽  
Martin Buschkuehl ◽  
Susanne M. Jaeggi
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Working Memory Training ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Brain

The aim of this chapter is to contribute to the discussion of the cognitive neuroscience of brain stimulation. In doing so, the authors emphasize work from their own laboratory that focuses both on working memory training and transcranial direct current stimulation. Transcranial direct current stimulation is one of the most commonly used and extensively researched methods of transcranial electrical stimulation. The chapter focuses on implementation of transcranial direct current stimulation to enhance and inform research on working memory training, and not on the underlying mechanisms of transcranial direct current stimulation. Thus, while respecting the intricacies and unknowns of the inner workings of electrical stimulation on the brain, the chapter relies on the premise that transcranial direct current stimulation is able to directly affect the electrophysiological profile of the brain and provides evidence that this in turn can influence behavior given the right parameters.

scholarly journals Individual Differences and Long-term Consequences of tDCS-augmented Cognitive Training

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 1498-1508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Katz ◽  
Jacky Au ◽  
Martin Buschkuehl ◽  
Tessa Abagis ◽  
Chelsea Zabel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Sham Condition

A great deal of interest surrounds the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to augment cognitive training. However, effects are inconsistent across studies, and meta-analytic evidence is mixed, especially for healthy, young adults. One major source of this inconsistency is individual differences among the participants, but these differences are rarely examined in the context of combined training/stimulation studies. In addition, it is unclear how long the effects of stimulation last, even in successful interventions. Some studies make use of follow-up assessments, but very few have measured performance more than a few months after an intervention. Here, we utilized data from a previous study of tDCS and cognitive training [Au, J., Katz, B., Buschkuehl, M., Bunarjo, K., Senger, T., Zabel, C., et al. Enhancing working memory training with transcranial direct current stimulation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 28, 1419–1432, 2016] in which participants trained on a working memory task over 7 days while receiving active or sham tDCS. A new, longer-term follow-up to assess later performance was conducted, and additional participants were added so that the sham condition was better powered. We assessed baseline cognitive ability, gender, training site, and motivation level and found significant interactions between both baseline ability and motivation with condition (active or sham) in models predicting training gain. In addition, the improvements in the active condition versus sham condition appear to be stable even as long as a year after the original intervention.

scholarly journals Transcranial direct current stimulation over the right DLPFC selectively modulates subprocesses in working memory

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiarui Wang ◽  
Jinhua Tian ◽  
Renning Hao ◽  
Lili Tian ◽  
Qiang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Difficult Condition ◽  
Cathodal Tdcs ◽  
The Right

Background Working memory, as a complex system, consists of two independent components: manipulation and maintenance process, which are defined as executive control and storage process. Previous studies mainly focused on the overall effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on working memory. However, little has been known about the segregative effects of tDCS on the sub-processes within working memory. Method Transcranial direct current stimulation, as one of the non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, is being widely used to modulate the cortical activation of local brain areas. This study modified a spatial n-back experiment with anodal and cathodal tDCS exertion on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), aiming to investigate the effects of tDCS on the two sub-processes of working memory: manipulation (updating) and maintenance. Meanwhile, considering the separability of tDCS effects, we further reconfirmed the causal relationship between the right DLPFC and the sub-processes of working memory with different tDCS conditions. Results The present study showed that cathodal tDCS on the right DLPFC selectively improved the performance of the modified 2-back task in the difficult condition, whereas anodal tDCS significantly reduced the performance of subjects and showed an speeding-up tendency of response time. More precisely, the results of discriminability index and criterion showed that only cathodal tDCS enhanced the performance of maintenance in the difficult condition. Neither of the two tDCS conditions affected the performance of manipulation (updating). Conclusion These findings provide evidence that cathodal tDCS of the right DLPFC selectively affects maintenance capacity. Besides, cathodal tDCS also serves as an interference suppressor to reduce the irrelevant interference, thereby indirectly improving the working memory capacity. Moreover, the right DLPFC is not the unique brain regions for working memory manipulation (updating).

No Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex on Temporal Attention

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Raquel E. London ◽  
Heleen A. Slagter
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal

Selection mechanisms that dynamically gate only relevant perceptual information for further processing and sustained representation in working memory are critical for goal-directed behavior. We examined whether this gating process can be modulated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC)—a region known to play a key role in working memory and conscious access. Specifically, we examined the effects of tDCS on the magnitude of the “attentional blink” (AB), a deficit in identifying the second of two targets presented in rapid succession. Thirty-four participants performed an AB task before (baseline), during and after 20 min of 1-mA anodal and cathodal tDCS in two separate sessions. On the basis of previous reports linking individual differences in AB magnitude to individual differences in DLPFC activity and on the basis of suggestions that effects of tDCS depend on baseline brain activity levels, we hypothesized that anodal tDCS over lDLPFC would modulate the magnitude of the AB as a function of individual baseline AB magnitude. Behavioral results did not provide support for this hypothesis. At the group level, we also did not observe any significant effects of tDCS, and a Bayesian analysis revealed strong evidence that tDCS to lDLPFC did not affect AB performance. Together, these findings do not support the idea that there is an optimal level of prefrontal cortical excitability for cognitive function. More generally, they add to a growing body of work that challenges the idea that the effects of tDCS can be predicted from baseline levels of behavior.

scholarly journals High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Over the Right Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Increases Maximization Tendencies

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haixia Wang ◽  
Hanqi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
High Definition ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
The Right ◽  
Motivational Changes

People seek the best in every aspect of life. However, little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms supporting this process of maximization. In this study, maximization tendencies were increased by using high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Participants (n = 64) received 2 mA anodal 4 × 1 HD-tDCS or sham stimulation over the right DLPFC in two sessions and subsequently completed an N-back working memory task and a maximization scale (MS). We observed that maximization tendency scores increased during anodal stimulation. Furthermore, the results indicate that this increase in maximization tendency was driven by motivational changes. On the MS, alternative search subscale scores were significantly increased, demonstrating an increase in motivation to evaluate more alternatives; however, the results did not indicate that the increase in maximization tendencies was due to working memory improvement. These results demonstrated that maximization tendencies can be strengthened through noninvasive interventions and that the right DLPFC has a causal relationship with maximization tendencies.

scholarly journals Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation reconfigurates static and dynamic functional connectivity of the resting-state networks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatma Grami ◽  
Giovanni de Marco ◽  
Florian Bodranghien ◽  
Mario Manto ◽  
C. Habas
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
The Right

Abstract Background Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the cerebellum dynamically modulates cerebello-thalamo-cortical excitability in a polarity-specific manner during motor, visuo- motor and cognitive tasks. It remains to be established whether tDCS of the cerebellum impact also on resting-state intrinsically connected networks (ICNs). Such impact would open novel research and therapeutical doors for the neuromodulation of ICNs in human. Method: We combined tDCS applied over the right cerebellum and fMRI to investigate tDCS- induced resting-state intrinsic functional reconfiguration, using a randomized, sham-controlled design. fMRI data were recorded both before and after real anodal stimulation (2 mA, 20 min) or sham tDCS in 12 right-handed healthy volunteers. We resorted to a region-of-interest static correlational analysis and to a sliding window analysis to assess temporal variations in resting state FC between the cerebellar lobule VII and nodes of the main ICNs. Results After real tDCS and compared with sham tDCS, functional changes were observed between the cerebellum and ICNs. Static FC showed enhanced or decreased correlation between cerebellum and brain areas belonging to visual, default-mode (DMN), sensorimotor and salience networks (SN) (p-corrected < 0.05). The temporal variability (TV) of BOLD signal was significantly modified after tDCS displaying in particular a lesser TV between the whole lobule VII and DMN and central executive network and a greater TV between crus 2 and SN. Static and dynamic FC was also modified between cerebellar lobuli. Conclusion These results demonstrate short- and long-range static and majorly dynamic effects of tDCS stimulation of the cerebellum affecting distinct resting-state ICNs, as well as intracerebellar functional connectivity, so that tDCS of the cerebellum appears as a non-invasive tool reconfigurating the dynamics of ICNs.

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