Enhancing cognitive control components of insight problems solving by anodal tDCS of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Metuki, Nili; Sela, Tal; Lavidor, Michal

doi:10.1016/j.brs.2012.03.002

Cited by 143 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This finding parallels the positive effects from stimulating the DLPFC, which can enhance arithmetic performance over long durations 2 , and facilitate solution generation for difficult problems, but not for easy problems 3 . In fact, tDCS over prefrontal cortex can enhance performance in a variety of cognitive tasks in healthy participants .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…And lasting effects on cognition from stimulating regions of the prefrontal cortex are also observed 2,3,4,5 . However, the physiological effects of brain stimulation on neurons are different depending on whether behaviour is tested during (on-line effects) or after (off-line effects) the stimulation period 27 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The interpretation of these task-specific results, are firmly constrained by an understanding of the physiology of the cerebro-cerebellar pathway. Neuro-enhancement effects, even when tasks are difficult, are also observed after electrical stimulation of the prefrontal cortex 2,3,4,5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum

Pope

2015

JoVE

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Numerous studies have emerged recently that demonstrate the possibility of modulating, and in some cases enhancing, cognitive processes by exciting brain regions involved in working memory and attention using transcranial electrical brain stimulation. Some researchers now believe the cerebellum supports cognition, possibly via a remote neuromodulatory effect on the prefrontal cortex. This paper describes a procedure for investigating a role for the cerebellum in cognition using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and a selection of information-processing tasks of varying task difficulty, which have previously been shown to involve working memory, attention and cerebellar functioning. One task is called the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) and the other a novel variant of this task called the Paced Auditory Serial Subtraction Task (PASST). A verb generation task and its two controls (noun and verb reading) were also investigated. All five tasks were performed by three separate groups of participants, before and after the modulation of cortico-cerebellar connectivity using anodal, cathodal or sham tDCS over the right cerebellar cortex. The procedure demonstrates how performance (accuracy, verbal response latency and variability) could be selectively improved after cathodal stimulation, but only during tasks that the participants rated as difficult, and not easy. Performance was unchanged by anodal or sham stimulation. These findings demonstrate a role for the cerebellum in cognition, whereby activity in the left prefrontal cortex is likely dis-inhibited by cathodal tDCS over the right cerebellar cortex. Transcranial brain stimulation is growing in popularity in various labs and clinics. However, the after-effects of tDCS are inconsistent between individuals and not always polarity-specific, and may even be task-or loadspecific, all of which requires further study. Future efforts might also be guided towards neuro-enhancement in cerebellar patients presenting with cognitive impairment once a better understanding of brain stimulation mechanisms has emerged.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum

Pope

2015

JoVE

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“…For example, Cerruti and Schlaug [48] described an improving effect of anodal tDCS of the left DLPFC on complex verbal associative thought. Another study showed that solution recognition of diffi cult problems is improved by anodal tDCS over the same area [49] . Interestingly, tDCS over the left DLPFC has a performance phase-specifi c effect in the Tower of London task, which involves strategic planning.…”

Section: Problem-solvingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring prefrontal cortex functions in healthy humans by transcranial electrical stimulation

Kuo

Nitsche²

2015

Neurosci. Bull.

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The prefrontal cortex is involved in a multitude of cognitive, emotional, motivational, and social processes, so exploring its specifi c functions is crucial for understanding human experience and behavior. Functional imaging approaches have largely contributed to the enhancement of our understanding, but might have limitations in establishing causal relationships between physiology and the related psychological and behavioral processes. Non-invasive electrical stimulation with direct or alternating currents can help to enhance our understanding with regard to specific processes, and might provide future protocols able to improve them in case of malfunctions. We review the current state of the fi eld, and provide an outlook for future developments.

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“…The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is one of the most frequently targeted stimulation sites in tDCS studies. Studies have shown that tDCS has modulatory effects on attention (Gladwin et al 2012b;Kang et al 2009;Kang et al 2012;Nelson et al 2014;Nozari and Thompson-Schill 2013), memory and verbal processing (Fertonani et al 2010;Fertonani et al 2014;Metuki et al 2012;Sela et al 2012;Vannorsdall et al 2012;Wirth et al 2011), and executive functioning (including working memory; Andrews et al 2011;Berryhill and Jones 2012;Boggio and Khoury 2009;Boggio et al 2006;Dockery et al 2009;Filmer et al 2013;Fregni et al 2005;Gladwin et al 2012a;Hammer and Mohammadi 2011;Harty et al 2014;Hoy et al 2014;Jo et al 2009;Keshvari et al 2013;Leite et al 2011;Leite et al 2013;Mulquiney and Hoy 2011;Penolazzi et al 2010;Plewnia et al 2013;Saidmanesh et al 2012;Vanderhasselt et al 2013a;Vanderhasselt et al 2013b;Wu et al 2014;Zmigrod et al 2014); for a meta-analysis of the effects of tDCS on working memory, see Brunoni and Vanderhasselt (2014), among others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of the interval-between-sessions on prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on cognitive outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

et al. 2016

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Recently, there has been wide interest in the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on cognitive functioning. However, many methodological questions remain unanswered. One of them is whether the time interval between active and sham-controlled stimulation sessions, i.e. the Interval Between Sessions (IBS), influences DLPFC tDCS effects on cognitive functioning.Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed of experimental studies published in PubMed, Science Direct, and other databases from the first data available to February 2016. Single session shamcontrolled within-subject studies reporting the effects of tDCS of the DLPFC on cognitive functioning in healthy controls and neuropsychiatric patients were included. Cognitive tasks were categorized in tasks assessing memory, attention, and executive functioning. Evaluation of 188 trials showed that anodal vs. sham tDCS significantly decreased response times and increased accuracy, and specifically for the executive functioning tasks, in a sample of healthy participants and neuropsychiatric patients (although a slightly different pattern of improvement was found in analyses for both samples separately). The effects of cathodal vs. sham tDCS (45 trials), on the other hand, were not significant. IBS ranged from less than one hour to up to one week (i.e. cathodal tDCS) or two weeks (i.e. anodal tDCS). This IBS length had no influence on the estimated effect size when performing a meta-regression of IBS on reaction time and accuracy outcomes in all three cognitive categories, both for anodal and cathodal stimulation. Practical recommendations and limitations of the study are further discussed.

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Enhancing cognitive control components of insight problems solving by anodal tDCS of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Cited by 143 publications

References 32 publications

Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum

Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum

Exploring prefrontal cortex functions in healthy humans by transcranial electrical stimulation

The effect of the interval-between-sessions on prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on cognitive outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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