How Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Can Modulate Implicit Motor Sequence Learning and Consolidation: A Brief Review

Savic, Branislav; Meier, Beat

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00026

Cited by 42 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…ER was calculated for each block of all the SRTT runs. The GMS score represents the speeding up of RTs across sequential blocks due to practice (Savic and Meier, 2016). Specifically, the GMS score is the mean RT difference between two sequential blocks and served as a measure of GMS learning and consolidation.…”

Section: Srtt Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-Dependent Effect of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Motor Skill Consolidation

Fresnoza

Christova

Bieler

et al. 2020

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is the application of subthreshold, sinusoidal current to modulate ongoing brain rhythms related to sensory, motor and cognitive processes. Electrophysiological studies suggested that the effect of tACS applied at an alpha frequency (8-12 Hz) was state-dependent. The effects of tACS, that is, an increase in parieto-occipital electroencephalography (EEG) alpha power and magnetoencephalography (MEG) phase coherence, was only observed when the eyes were open (low alpha power) and not when the eyes were closed (high alpha power). This state-dependency of the effects of alpha tACS might extend to the aging brain characterized by general slowing and decrease in spectral power of the alpha rhythm. We additionally hypothesized that tACS will influence the motor cortex, which is involved in motor skill learning and consolidation. A group of young and old healthy adults performed a serial reaction time task (SRTT) with their right hand before and after the tACS stimulation. Each participant underwent three sessions of stimulation: sham, stimulation applied at the individual participant's alpha peak frequency or individual alpha peak frequency (iAPF; α-tACS) and stimulation with iAPF plus 2 Hz (α2-tACS) to the left motor cortex for 10 min (1.5 mA). We measured the effect of stimulation on general motor skill (GMS) and sequence-specific skill (SS) consolidation. We found that α-tACS and α2-tACS improved GMS and SS consolidation in the old group. In contrast, α-tACS minimally improved GMS consolidation but impaired SS consolidation in the young group. On the other hand, α2-tACS was detrimental to the consolidation of both skills in the young group. Our results suggest that individuals with aberrant alpha rhythm such as the elderly could benefit more from tACS stimulation, whereas for young healthy individuals with intact alpha rhythm the stimulation could be detrimental.

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Section: Srtt Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-Dependent Effect of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Motor Skill Consolidation

Fresnoza

Christova

Bieler

et al. 2020

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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“…Investigations have used tDCS to either modulate learning or to better understand the underlying learning processes (Orban de Xivry and Shadmehr, 2014; Savic and Meier, 2016). However, the number of brain regions involved in skill learning is vast (Ungerleider et al, 2002) which has led to various targeted brain regions for tDCS application, electrode montages, and types of motor tasks.…”

Section: Modulating Motor Learning Processes Through Tdcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modulating Motor Learning through Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation: An Integrative View

2016

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Motor learning consists of the ability to improve motor actions through practice playing a major role in the acquisition of skills required for high-performance sports or motor function recovery after brain lesions. During the last decades, it has been reported that transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS), consisting in applying weak direct current through the scalp, is able of inducing polarity-specific changes in the excitability of cortical neurons. This low-cost, painless and well-tolerated portable technique has found a wide-spread use in the motor learning domain where it has been successfully applied to enhance motor learning in healthy individuals and for motor recovery after brain lesion as well as in pathological states associated to motor deficits. The main objective of this mini-review is to offer an integrative view about the potential use of tDCS for human motor learning modulation. Furthermore, we introduce the basic mechanisms underlying immediate and long-term effects associated to tDCS along with important considerations about its limitations and progression in recent years.

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“…Since the neurophysiological effects of motor cortex tDCS can remain for a considerable period after stimulation (Nitsche & Paulus, 2000, also the impact on motor performance might outlast the stimulation itself. TDCS influences both motor learning (Nitsche, Schauenburg, et al, 2003;Savic & Meier, 2016) and performance of simple motor and cognitive tasks (Nozari¸Woodard, & Thompson-Schill, 2014) when stimulation is applied during task execution. However, for relatively simple RT tasks, tDCS applied before performance may also induce functional alterations (Devanathan & Madhavan, 2016;Müller, Orosz, Treszl, Schmid, Sperner, 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…TDCS-generated neuroplasticity is thought to enhance learning-related plasticity (LTP) when task performance and stimulation are conducted simultaneously. Indeed, LTP-like plasticity-inducing tDCS improved motor learning when stimulation was applied during task performance (Nitsche, Schauenburg, et al, 2003;Savic & Meier, 2016). When the effect of anodal and cathodal tDCS on motor performance was tested by applying stimulation either during or before task performance, faster learning was found by anodal tDCS only when stimulation was applied during task performance .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Poststimulation time interval-dependent effects of motor cortex anodal tDCS on reaction-time task performance

Molero‐Chamizo

Bailén

Béjar

et al. 2018

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci

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Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) induces long-term potentiation-like plasticity, which is associated with long-lasting effects on different cognitive, emotional, and motor performances. Specifically, tDCS applied over the motor cortex is considered to improve reaction time in simple and complex tasks. The timing of tDCS relative to task performance could determine the efficacy of tDCS to modulate performance. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a single session of anodal tDCS (1.5 mA, for 15 min) applied over the left primary motor cortex (M1) versus sham stimulation on performance of a go/no-go simple reaction-time task carried out at three different time points after tDCS-namely, 0, 30, or 60 min after stimulation. Performance zero min after anodal tDCS was improved during the whole course of the task. Performance 30 min after anodal tDCS was improved only in the last block of the reaction-time task. Performance 60 min after anodal tDCS was not significantly different throughout the entire task. These findings suggest that the motor cortex excitability changes induced by tDCS can improve motor responses, and these effects critically depend on the time interval between stimulation and task performance.

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How Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Can Modulate Implicit Motor Sequence Learning and Consolidation: A Brief Review

Cited by 42 publications

References 54 publications

Age-Dependent Effect of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Motor Skill Consolidation

Age-Dependent Effect of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Motor Skill Consolidation

Modulating Motor Learning through Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation: An Integrative View

Poststimulation time interval-dependent effects of motor cortex anodal tDCS on reaction-time task performance

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