Modulating arithmetic fact retrieval: A single-blind, sham-controlled tDCS study with repeated fMRI measurements

Clemens, Benjamin; Jung, Stefanie; Zvyagintsev, Mikhail; Domahs, Frank; Willmes, Klaus

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.03.023

Cited by 31 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Interestingly, a previous offline fMRI-tDCS study [38] also reported stimulation-specific fMRI results in the absence of behavioural effects. In the present study, we investigated for the first time the effects of tDCS on two types of arithmetic demands (facts and procedures).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Neurocognitive Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Arithmetic Learning and Performance: A Simultaneous tDCS-fMRI Study

et al. 2016

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BACKGROUND A small but increasing number of studies suggest that non-invasive brain stimulation by means of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can modulate arithmetic processes that are essential for higher-order mathematical skills and that are impaired in dyscalculic individuals. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying such stimulation effects, and whether they are specific to cognitive processes involved in different arithmetic tasks. METHODS We addressed these questions by applying tDCS during simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participants were solving two types of complex subtraction problems: repeated problems, relying on arithmetic fact learning and problem-solving by fact retrieval, and novel problems, requiring calculation procedures. Twenty participants receiving left parietal anodal plus right frontal cathodal stimulation were compared with 20 participants in a sham condition. RESULTS We found a strong cognitive and neural dissociation between repeated and novel problems. Repeated problems were solved more accurately and elicited increased activity in the bilateral angular gyri and medial plus lateral prefrontal cortices. Solving novel problems, in contrast, was accompanied by stronger activation in the bilateral intraparietal sulci and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Most importantly, tDCS decreased the activation of the right inferior frontal cortex while solving novel (compared to repeated) problems, suggesting that the cathodal stimulation rendered this region unable to respond to the task-specific cognitive demand. CONCLUSIONS The present study revealed that tDCS during arithmetic problem-solving can modulate the neural activity in proximity to the electrodes specifically when the current demands lead to an engagement of this area.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Neurocognitive Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Arithmetic Learning and Performance: A Simultaneous tDCS-fMRI Study

et al. 2016

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“…However, having said that, future research must consider their potentially different neurofunctional signatures, examine potential side effects, and discuss neuroethical questions (Cohen Kadosh et al 2012;Davis 2014). Documentation of (individualized) task-specific brain activity will potentially allow for predictive adjustment of tES configurations and better evaluation thereof, i.e., using fMRI (Clemens et al 2013), EEG , or fNIRS (Snowball et al 2013). Further tES precision could be obtained from considering a neurodevelopmental perspective, relevant domain-related states, concurrent neuroimaging, and theoretical optimization of task-related brain structure correspondence in experimental and training studies to improve efficacy and replication (Harty et al 2017).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, however, simplification or even standardization of certain parameters would facilitate cumulative research, and the ongoing development of electric field modeling tools can already be used for selecting stimulation targets (Truong et al 2014). Regarding numerical processes, stimulations should be administered concurrently to a task and could then achieve neurostructural precision following task-selective recruitment (Clemens et al 2013;Bikson and Rahman 2013), but effectivity can vary according to individual differences. Based on the available literature, so far, electrode sizes do not appear to produce remarkable effectivity differences in this domain.…”

Section: Tes Configurationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive Enhancement of Numerical and Arithmetic Capabilities: a Mini-Review of Available Transcranial Electric Stimulation Studies

et al. 2017

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Arithmetic capabilities are complex cognitive skills essential for handling requirements of the modern world. At the same time, educational institutions are challenged with mathrelated problems, e.g., developmental dyscalculia and math anxiety, and also with less severe difficulties of arithmetic understanding. Thus, non-invasive techniques for cognitive enhancement have attracted researchers' and practitioners' interest in the fields of education, psychology, and neuroscience. Particularly, studies employing transcranial electric stimulation (tES) in arithmetic learning, problem solving, and performance in numerical tasks and operations have shaped an optimistic perspective of cognitive enhancement in these domains, building on the fronto-parietal correlates of healthy and deficient arithmetic performance and learning. However, the heterogeneity of stimulation approaches in numerical cognition researchwith different electrode montages, stimulation protocols, tasks, outcomes, and combinations thereof-may also showcase a variety of parameters relevant more generally to the cognitive domain. Here, we present a short overview of the different tES approaches to enhance numerical and arithmetic capabilities in performance and training within the general framework of cognitive enhancement. We conclude that performance and training gains can be obtained from different strategical tES configurations, but more standardization, better translation between neurodevelopmental perspectives and tES principles, as well as pre-registered and controlled studies in critical populations are needed.

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“…It is also important to report that some were not able to find an effect of tDCS on behavioural performance (e.g., Clemens, Jung, Zvyagintsev, Domahs, & Willmes, 2013). However, Clemens et al (2013) showed that a single session of tDCS affected brain activation as indicated by the bloodoxygen-level-dependent signal.…”

Section: Higher Level Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modulating and enhancing cognition using brain stimulation: Science and fiction

Kadosh

2015

Journal of Cognitive Psychology

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A new line of research opens the possibility of modulating and enhancing human cognition using mild and painless transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), which includes transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS). Such initial findings trigger excitement as well as scepticism. The current review aims to provide a guideline for those who are interested in expanding their research into this field. I will therefore discuss: (1) the principles of tES and its putative mechanisms; (2) its potential to modulate and enhance cognitive abilities; (3) the misconceptions on which scepticism about this method is based; and (4) possible directions for the advancement of this field in which psychologists in general and cognitive psychologists in particular should in my view play a key role. I will conclude that this nascent field, which has been neglected by psychologists, requires their contribution in order to lead to basic and translational advancements on human behaviour.

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Modulating arithmetic fact retrieval: A single-blind, sham-controlled tDCS study with repeated fMRI measurements

Cited by 31 publications

References 81 publications

Neurocognitive Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Arithmetic Learning and Performance: A Simultaneous tDCS-fMRI Study

Neurocognitive Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Arithmetic Learning and Performance: A Simultaneous tDCS-fMRI Study

Cognitive Enhancement of Numerical and Arithmetic Capabilities: a Mini-Review of Available Transcranial Electric Stimulation Studies

Modulating and enhancing cognition using brain stimulation: Science and fiction

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