Enhancing cognition using transcranial electrical stimulation

Santarnecchi, Emiliano; Brem, Anna‐Katharine; Levenbaum, Erica; Thompson, Todd W.; Kadosh, Roi Cohen; Pascual‐Leone, Álvaro

doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.06.003

Cited by 136 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Left DLPFC anodal stimulation during training improved subsequent WM performance to a small but significant degree, and the effect remained significant after correction for publication bias. That the clearest support for tDCS in WM enhancement comes from its use with training makes sense in light of its known effects on cellular and synaptic physiology (Stagg, 2014), and recent discussions of cognitive enhancement with tDCS have emphasized its potential to enhance learning (e.g., Santarnecchi et al, 2015). However, it should be borne in mind that this conclusion comes from a relatively small number of studies (10), and an even smaller number of unreported null results (7) would eliminate the effect.…”

Section: Summary Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…What factors, including reference electrode placement, current density, stimulation before or during task performance, and so forth, moderate WM enhancement by tDCS? Third, we address the issue of tDCS as an adjuvant to WM training: Does tDCS amplify the enhancing effects of WM training, as might be expected given its effects on neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity (Stagg, 2014; see also Santarnecchi et al, 2015)? Fourth, what role might publication bias play in shaping the literature on tDCS enhancement of WM, and how do the conclusions of that literature differ when the influence of publication bias is estimated and corrected?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Improve Healthy Working Memory?: A Meta-analytic Review

Mancuso

Ilieva

Hamilton

et al. 2016

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

253

179

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Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been reported to improve working memory (WM) performance in healthy individuals, suggesting its value as a means of cognitive enhancement. However, recent meta-analyses concluded that tDCS has little or no effect on WM in healthy participants. In this article, we review reasons why these meta-analyses may have underestimated the effect of tDCS on WM and report a more comprehensive and arguably more sensitive meta-analysis. Consistent with our interest in enhancement, we focused on anodal stimulation. Thirty-one articles matched inclusion criteria and were included in four primary meta-analyses assessing the WM effects of anodal stimulation over the left and right dorsolateral pFC (DLPFC) and right parietal lobe as well as left DLPFC stimulation coupled with WM training. These analyses revealed a small but significant effect of left DLPFC stimulation coupled with WM training. Left DLPFC stimulation alone also enhanced WM performance, but the effect was reduced to nonsignificance after correction for publication bias. No other effects were significant, including a variety of tested moderators. Additional meta-analyses were undertaken with study selection criteria based on previous meta-analyses, to reassess the findings from these studies using the analytic methods of this study. These analyses revealed a mix of significant and nonsignificant small effects. We conclude that the primary WM enhancement potential of tDCS probably lies in its use during training. However, recent meta-analyses concluded that tDCS has little or no effect on WM in healthy participants.In this article, we review reasons why these meta-analyses may have underestimated the effect of tDCS on WM and report a more comprehensive and arguably more sensitive metaanalysis. Consistent with our interest in enhancement, we focused on anodal stimulation. Thirty-one articles matched inclusion criteria and were included in four primary meta-analyses assessing the WM effects of anodal stimulation over the left and right dorsolateral pFC (DLPFC) and right parietal lobe as well as left DLPFC stimulation coupled with WM training. These analyses revealed a small but significant effect of left DLPFC stimulation coupled with WM training. Left DLPFC stimulation alone also enhanced WM performance, but the effect was reduced to nonsignificance after correction for publication bias. No other effects were significant, including a variety of tested moderators. Additional meta-analyses were undertaken with study selection criteria based on previous meta-analyses, to reassess the findings from these studies using the analytic methods of this study. These analyses revealed a mix of significant and nonsignificant small effects. We conclude that the primary WM enhancement potential of tDCS probably lies in its use during training. ■

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Section: Summary Of Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Improve Healthy Working Memory?: A Meta-analytic Review

Mancuso

Ilieva

Hamilton

et al. 2016

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

253

179

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, one goal in this tutorial is to contribute to work already underway to standardize methods for using tDCS to study cognitive processing in the brain. A number of groups are leading this effort and the reader would be well served to read the excellent papers available on tDCS methods (Fregni et al, 2006a, Fregni et al, 2006b, Utz et al, 2010b, DaSilva et al, 2011, Kuo and Nitsche, 2012, Filmer et al, 2014, Santarnecchi et al, 2015). Our novel contribution here is to make concrete the logic behind several of our key methodological choices, specifically the choice of electrode configurations, our methods for modeling of current flow which can be time consuming for a new user to accumulate across many sources, and the biophysical background that justifies these choices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) to understand cognitive processing

Reinhart

Cosman

Fukuda

et al. 2016

Atten Percept Psychophys

127

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Noninvasive brain stimulation methods are becoming increasingly common tools in the kit of the cognitive scientist. In particular, transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) is showing great promise as a tool to causally manipulate the brain and understand how information is processed. The popularity of this method of brain stimulation is based on the fact that it is safe, inexpensive, its effects are long lasting, and you can increase the likelihood that neurons will fire near one electrode and decrease the likelihood that neurons will fire near another. However, this method of manipulating the brain to draw causal inferences is not without complication. Because tDCS methods continue to be refined and are not yet standardized, there are reports in the literature that show some striking inconsistencies. Primary among the complications of the technique is that the tDCS method uses two or more electrodes to pass current and all of these electrodes will have effects on the tissue underneath them. In this tutorial, we will share what we have learned about using tDCS to manipulate how the brain perceives, attends, remembers, and responds to information from our environment. Our goal is to provide a starting point for new users of tDCS and spur discussion of the standardization of methods to enhance replicability.

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“…Originally applied through two saline-soaked electrodes placed on the scalp and with intensities in the range 0.5-2 mA, tDCS has demonstrated significant modulation of the physiology of several brain systems. The effects of tDCS spread from the modulation of cortical excitability levels [133] up to high-order cognitive networks [134,135], with initial promising results also for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric conditions [136][137][138]. The application of a constant field on the scalp generates two electric 'poles' with opposite charge, constituted by the two electrodes.…”

Section: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear effects of respiration on the crosstalk between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular control systems

Bari

Marchi

Maria

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular regulatory systems are vital control mechanisms responsible for guaranteeing homeostasis and are affected by respiration. This work proposes the investigation of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular control systems and the nonlinear influences of respiration on both regulations through joint symbolic analysis (JSA), conditioned or unconditioned on respiration. Interactions between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular regulatory systems were evaluated as well by performing correlation analysis between JSA indexes describing the two control systems. Heart period, systolic and mean arterial pressure, mean cerebral blood flow velocity and respiration were acquired on a beat-to-beat basis in 13 subjects experiencing recurrent syncope episodes (SYNC) and 13 healthy individuals (non-SYNC) in supine resting condition and during head-up tilt test at 60° (TILT). Results showed that JSA distinguished conditions and groups, whereas time domain parameters detected only the effect of TILT. Respiration affected cardiovascular and cerebrovascular regulatory systems in a nonlinear way and was able to modulate the interactions between the two control systems with different outcome in non-SYNC and SYNC groups, thus suggesting that the analysis of the impact of respiration on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular regulatory systems might improve our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the development of postural-related syncope.

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Enhancing cognition using transcranial electrical stimulation

Cited by 136 publications

References 49 publications

Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Improve Healthy Working Memory?: A Meta-analytic Review

Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Improve Healthy Working Memory?: A Meta-analytic Review

Using transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) to understand cognitive processing

Nonlinear effects of respiration on the crosstalk between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular control systems

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