Transcranial Electrical Stimulation as a Tool to Enhance Attention

Reteig, Leon C.; Talsma, L.J.; Schouwenburg, Martine R. van; Slagter, Heleen A.

doi:10.1007/s41465-017-0010-y

Cited by 50 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 117 publications

(105 reference statements)

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“…tDCS effects are generally subtle and might therefore surface only in a within-subject design which is more sensitive because it takes out individual variance in baseline task performance and the degree of vigilance decrement over time (although we tried to control for the first with the staircase procedure). However, compared to many tDCS studies that previously reported effects on attentional performance using a between-subjects design [39], our sample size was relatively large with 30 to 34 participants in each stimulation group. It should also be noted that the effects of tDCS in general are debated [42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should also be noted that the effects of tDCS in general are debated [42]. As we pointed out in an earlier review, the wide range in stimulation parameters that is used in tDCS studies and individual differences in the effects of tDCS might contribute to the failure to find (consistent) effects [39]. Also, the neural effects of tDCS itself may be smaller than assumed, as it was recently shown that the strength of the electric field in the brain is at the lower bound for it to be physiologically effective [43,44].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of mid-frontal brain stimulation on sustained attention

Schouwenburg

Sligte

Giffin

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Vigilant attention is defined as the ability to sustain attention over longer periods of time in a non-stimulating environment. Previous studies have suggested an important role for the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in vigilant attention. In this manuscript, we describe two experiments in which we aimed to enhance vigilant attention by applying transcranial electrical current stimulation over the mPFC. Specifically, we were interested in reducing the often observed decline in performance with time-on-task, the so-called vigilance decrement. In the first experiment, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in a between-subject design (n=97): participants received either anodal, cathodal, or sham stimulation. In contrast to our prediction, we found no effect of stimulation on the vigilance decrement. In the second experiment, we applied transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). Participants received alpha and theta stimulation in two separate sessions (n=47, within-subject design). Here, we found a frequency-dependent effect on the vigilance decrement, such that contrary to our expectation, participants performance over time became worse after theta stimulation, compared to alpha stimulation. However, this result needs to be interpreted with caution given that at least part of this effect seems to be driven by the intensity of side effects experienced during the two stimulation frequencies. To conclude, across the two studies we were not able to reduce the vigilant decrement using tDCS or theta tACS.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of mid-frontal brain stimulation on sustained attention

Schouwenburg

Sligte

Giffin

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…Attention is a fundamental cognitive process; without it, people would helplessly adrift in an overload of sensory input [2]. The link between attention and stimulation has been widely accepted.…”

Section: B Fragmented Teaching Based On Classroom Attention 1) Invermentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on Fragmentation and Systematization of Teaching Process Against the Background of Mobile Internet

Xi¹,

Liu²,

Dong³

et al. 2019

Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2019)

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In recent years, the use of mobile Internet has been increasing year by year, and its application in teaching has attracted much attention. In view of this, taking fragmentation and systematic teaching as the research object and combining with the curriculum practice, this paper first classifies the application of mobile internet, then puts forward the application methods of mobile Internet in fragmentation teaching from two aspects of enhancing memory and improving attention, and finally compares and diverges, classifies and summarizes. The mobile Internet will be applied to systematic teaching. In the teaching process, increasing the use of intelligent terminals reasonably can not only enhance students' learning enthusiasm and interest, but also improve students' memory and attention, which is helpful to form a teacher-led, student-centered teaching model.

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“…One important aim of such studies is to causally link specific cognitive processes and behaviors to (changes in) the functioning of specific brain regions and networks in healthy human adults. Notably, extensive review studies have failed to reveal consistent and reproducible effects of tDCS on attentional functions (Reteig, Talsma, van Schouwenburg, & Slagter, ), working memory (Russowsky‐Brunoni & Vanderhasselt, ), or executive function, language, and memory (Horvath, Forte, & Carter, ). rTMS protocols seem to suffer less severely from such issues (e.g., Hsu, Ku, Zanto, & Gazzaley, ), but unexpected or null findings are frequently reported here as well (for review, see, e.g., Guse, Falkai, & Wobrock, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over inferior frontal cortex impairs the suppression (but not expression) of action impulses during action conflict

et al. 2017

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In the recent literature, the effects of noninvasive neurostimulation on cognitive functioning appear to lack consistency and replicability. We propose that such effects may be concealed unless dedicated, sensitive, and process-specific dependent measures are used. The expression and subsequent suppression of response capture are often studied using conflict tasks. Response-time distribution analyses have been argued to provide specific measures of the susceptibility to make fast impulsive response errors, as well as the proficiency of the selective suppression of these impulses. These measures of response capture and response inhibition are particularly sensitive to experimental manipulations and clinical deficiencies that are typically obfuscated in commonly used overall performance analyses. Recent work using structural and functional imaging techniques links these behavioral outcome measures to the integrity of frontostriatal networks. These studies suggest that the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA) is linked to the susceptibility to response capture whereas the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) is associated with the selective suppression of action impulses. Here, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to test the causal involvement of these two cortical areas in response capture and inhibition in the Simon task. Disruption of rIFC function specifically impaired selective suppression of conflicting action tendencies, whereas the anticipated increase of fast impulsive errors after perturbing pre-SMA function was not confirmed. These results provide a proof of principle of the notion that the selection of appropriate dependent measures is perhaps crucial to establish the effects of neurostimulation on specific cognitive functions.

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Transcranial Electrical Stimulation as a Tool to Enhance Attention

Cited by 50 publications

References 117 publications

Effects of mid-frontal brain stimulation on sustained attention

Effects of mid-frontal brain stimulation on sustained attention

Research on Fragmentation and Systematization of Teaching Process Against the Background of Mobile Internet

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over inferior frontal cortex impairs the suppression (but not expression) of action impulses during action conflict

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