Evidence against benefits from cognitive training and transcranial direct current stimulation in healthy older adults

Horne, Kristina; Filmer, Hannah L.; Nott, Zoie; Hawi, Ziarih; Pugsley, Kealan; Mattingley, Jason B.; Dux, Paul E.

doi:10.1038/s41562-020-00979-5

Cited by 35 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 83 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For instance, multiple session of tDCS in persons with mild cognitive impairment and dementia proved to significantly improve memory immediately after tDCS but not in the long run, suggesting that if used in multiple sessions, tDCS should be combined with cognitive training to reach long-term memory facilitation (see Cruz Gonzalez et al, 2018 for a review). In line with this, a recent study with healthy older adults showed that decision-making training concurrent with tDCS improves performance only in comparison with baseline, having no long-term training and transfer effects (Horne et al, 2020). Similar to the findings of Huo et al (2018), it was shown that, also for healthy older adults, multiple tDCS sessions do not benefit executive functioning and suggest that tDCS in combination with cognitive training may be a better approach.…”

Section: Tdcs-induced Neural Upregulation Is Related To Facilitated Decision Speed In the Delayed Reward Conditionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…The same applies to age-specific neurochemical, functional, and morphological differences (Antonenko et al, 2017(Antonenko et al, , 2019. Moreover, intra-and interindividual differences in neurotransmitter concentration (e.g., in dopamine, GABA, glutamate) as well as concentration and genotype of brain-derived neurotrophic factor or catechol-O-methyl transferase may lead to distinct tDCS-induced modulatory neural and behavioral effects (Teo et al, 2014;Li et al, 2015;Nitsche et al, 2015;Stephens et al, 2017;Horne et al, 2020). For instance, Horne et al (2020) reported a transfer effect in visual episodic memory in Val/Val carriers of aforementioned genes after tDCS coupled with decision-making training, whereas no beneficial training or transfer effect was observed in carriers of other genotypes.…”

Section: Bilateral Tdcs Increases Hemodynamic Response In Both Reward Conditions But Does Not Enhance Choice Performancementioning

confidence: 98%

“…Moreover, more precise electrode montages (e.g., high-definition tDCS, multi-array electrodes) should be applied (Laakso et al, 2016), as it was shown that current density and focality of the tDCS effect improved with the smaller size of the electrodes (Faria et al, 2011). Recent research supports these claims, illustrating how the different numbers of tDCS interventions and distinct tDCS protocols and montages can be associated with different outcomes (Horne et al, 2020). For example, Hanley and Tales (2019) showed an improved attentional control in older adults after three sessions of left anodal and right cathodal tDCS (1.5 mA, 20 min stimulation duration) over the dlPFC, whereas Nilsson et al (2017) demonstrated evidence against a beneficial effect of 20 sessions of left anodal tDCS over dlPFC (2 mA, 25 min stimulation duration) on working memory performance.…”

Section: Bilateral Tdcs Increases Hemodynamic Response In Both Reward Conditions But Does Not Enhance Choice Performancementioning

confidence: 98%

“…Moreover, intra-and interindividual differences in neurotransmitter concentration (e.g., in dopamine, GABA, glutamate) as well as concentration and genotype of brain-derived neurotrophic factor or catechol-O-methyl transferase may lead to distinct tDCS-induced modulatory neural and behavioral effects (Teo et al, 2014;Li et al, 2015;Nitsche et al, 2015;Stephens et al, 2017;Horne et al, 2020). For instance, Horne et al (2020) reported a transfer effect in visual episodic memory in Val/Val carriers of aforementioned genes after tDCS coupled with decision-making training, whereas no beneficial training or transfer effect was observed in carriers of other genotypes. The aforementioned aspects may lead to distinct responsiveness to tDCS across individuals resulting in a set of responders and non-responders and an overall null effect (López-Alonso et al, 2014;Wiethoff et al, 2014;Nejadgholi et al, 2015).…”

Section: Bilateral Tdcs Increases Hemodynamic Response In Both Reward Conditions But Does Not Enhance Choice Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Functional Effects of Bilateral Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Modulation During Sequential Decision-Making: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study With Offline Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Schommartz

Dix

Passow

et al. 2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability to learn sequential contingencies of actions for predicting future outcomes is indispensable for flexible behavior in many daily decision-making contexts. It remains open whether such ability may be enhanced by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The present study combined tDCS with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate potential tDCS-induced effects on sequential decision-making and the neural mechanisms underlying such modulations. Offline tDCS and sham stimulation were applied over the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) in young male adults (N = 29, mean age = 23.4 years, SD = 3.2) in a double-blind between-subject design using a three-state Markov decision task. The results showed (i) an enhanced dlPFC hemodynamic response during the acquisition of sequential state transitions that is consistent with the findings from a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study; (ii) a tDCS-induced increase of the hemodynamic response in the dlPFC, but without accompanying performance-enhancing effects at the behavioral level; and (iii) a greater tDCS-induced upregulation of hemodynamic responses in the delayed reward condition that seems to be associated with faster decision speed. Taken together, these findings provide empirical evidence for fNIRS as a suitable method for investigating hemodynamic correlates of sequential decision-making as well as functional brain correlates underlying tDCS-induced modulation. Future research with larger sample sizes for carrying out subgroup analysis is necessary in order to decipher interindividual differences in tDCS-induced effects on sequential decision-making process at the behavioral and brain levels.

show abstract

Section: Tdcs-induced Neural Upregulation Is Related To Facilitated Decision Speed In the Delayed Reward Conditionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Bilateral Tdcs Increases Hemodynamic Response In Both Reward Conditions But Does Not Enhance Choice Performancementioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Bilateral Tdcs Increases Hemodynamic Response In Both Reward Conditions But Does Not Enhance Choice Performancementioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Bilateral Tdcs Increases Hemodynamic Response In Both Reward Conditions But Does Not Enhance Choice Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Functional Effects of Bilateral Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Modulation During Sequential Decision-Making: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study With Offline Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Schommartz

Dix

Passow

et al. 2021

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, five stimulation sessions might have been insufficient to open a window of plasticity and trigger neurophysiological changes resulting in cognitive enhancement. Indeed, a recent study investigating combined tDCS and decision-making training over 5 days in older adults also failed to find a significant effect (73). In addition, our stimulation sessions were spread across 2 weeks (blocks of 3 and 2 days) and did not take place on 5 consecutive days.…”

Section: Reasons Related To Stimulationmentioning

confidence: 85%

The Effect of Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation on Cognitive Training Outcome in Healthy Aging

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background and Objective: Aging is associated with a decline in attentional and executive abilities, which are linked to physiological, structural, and functional brain changes. A variety of novel non-invasive brain stimulation methods have been probed in terms of their neuroenhancement efficacy in the last decade; one that holds significant promise is transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) that delivers an alternate current at random amplitude and frequency. The aim of this study was to investigate whether repeated sessions of tRNS applied as an add-on to cognitive training (CT) may induce long-term near and far transfer cognitive improvements.Methods: In this sham-controlled, randomized, double-blinded study forty-two older adults (age range 60–86 years) were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups that received 20 min of 0.705 mA tRNS (N = 14), 1 mA tRNS (N = 14), or sham tRNS (N = 19) combined with 30 min of CT of executive functions (cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, working memory). tRNS was applied bilaterally over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices for five sessions. The primary outcome (non-verbal logical reasoning) and other cognitive functions (attention, memory, executive functions) were assessed before and after the intervention and at a 1-month follow-up.Results: Non-verbal logical reasoning, inhibitory control and reaction time improved significantly over time, but stimulation did not differentially affect this improvement. These changes occurred during CT, while no further improvement was observed during follow-up. Performance change in logical reasoning was significantly correlated with age in the group receiving 1 mA tRNS, indicating that older participants profited more from tRNS than younger participants. Performance change in non-verbal working memory was significantly correlated with age in the group receiving sham tRNS, indicating that in contrast to active tRNS, older participants in the sham group declined more than younger participants.Interpretation: CT induced cognitive improvements in all treatment groups, but tRNS did not modulate most of these cognitive improvements. However, the effect of tRNS depended on age in some cognitive functions. We discuss possible explanations leading to this result that can help to improve the design of future neuroenhancement studies in older populations.

show abstract

The effect of multi‐tasking training on performance, situation awareness, and workload in simulated air traffic control

Black

Bender

Whitney

et al. 2022

Applied Cognitive Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Increasingly higher demands are being made on the capacity-limited cognitive capabilities of human operators as they strive to maintain situation awareness (i.e., understanding "what is going on") and performance in complex tasks. In the current study we asked whether: (a) training administered via a mobile phone-based app could improve multitasking and (b) improved multitasking in the app would generalize to improved performance and situation awareness in a simulated air traffic control task (ATC). Participants completed the ATC task before and after multiple sessions of app-based multitasking training or control training. Multitasking on the app improved across training sessions. However, this did not lead to improved performance or situation awareness, or workload reduction, relative to control training on the ATC task. These outcomes indicate that app-based multitasking training based on repetition of a single training task will not necessarily yield generalizable benefits to human performance in other complex dynamic tasks.

show abstract

Evidence against benefits from cognitive training and transcranial direct current stimulation in healthy older adults

Cited by 35 publications

References 83 publications

Functional Effects of Bilateral Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Modulation During Sequential Decision-Making: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study With Offline Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Functional Effects of Bilateral Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Modulation During Sequential Decision-Making: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study With Offline Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

The Effect of Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation on Cognitive Training Outcome in Healthy Aging

The effect of multi‐tasking training on performance, situation awareness, and workload in simulated air traffic control

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About