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Abstract■ 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 metaanalytic 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, 1419Neuroscience, 28, -1432Neuroscience, 28, , 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. ■

sgACC connectivity reduces along with depressive symptoms, not specific to rTMS therapy. Altered connectivity of DMN with anterior insula may reflect a type of patient less likely to respond to an intervention.

Background The present study tested the hypothesis that network segregation, a graph theoretic measure of functional organization of the brain, is correlated with treatment response in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) undergoing repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Methods Network segregation, calculated from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, was measured in 32 patients with MDD who entered a sham-controlled, double-blinded, randomized trial of rTMS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and a cohort of 20 healthy controls (HCs). Half of the MDD patients received sham treatment in the blinded phase, followed by active rTMS in the open-label phase. The analyses focused on segregation of the following networks: default mode (DMN), salience (SN), fronto-parietal (FPN), cingulo-opercular (CON), and memory retrieval (MRN). Results There was no differential change in network segregation comparing sham to active treatment. However, in the combined group of patients who completed active rTMS treatment (in the blinded plus open-label phases), higher baseline segregation of SN significantly predicted more symptom improvement after rTMS. Compared to HCs at baseline, MDD patients showed decreased segregation in DMN, and trend-level decreases in SN and MRN. Conclusion The results highlight the importance of network segregation in MDD, particularly in the SN, where more normal baseline segregation of SN may predict better treatment response to rTMS in depression.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive means of electrical brain stimulation that has garnered considerable interest among cognitive training researchers due to its potential to influence learning and improve cognitive functioning. TDCS applied via sponge electrodes on the scalp has been shown to modulate cortical excitability (Nitsche & Paulus, 2000) as well as regional cerebral

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We suggest that consideration of trial-by-trial variations, individual differences, and training data will enrich the current framework in Luck et al. (2020). We consider whether attentional capture is modulated by trial-by-trial fluctuations of attentional state and experiences on the previous trial. We also consider whether individual differences may affect attentional capture while highlighting potential challenges in using the color-singleton task to measure individual differences. Finally, performance in the color-singleton task can be modified dramatically with practice but the underlying mechanisms are not entirely clear. Understanding the malleability of attentional capture may broaden the current framework and resolve outstanding questions.

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