Null Effect of Transcranial Static Magnetic Field Stimulation over the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex on Behavioral Performance in a Go/NoGo Task

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate whether transcranial static magnetic field stimulation (tSMS), which can modulate cortical excitability, would influence inhibitory control function when applied over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Young healthy adults (n = 8, mean age ± SD = 24.4 ± 4.1, six females) received the following stimulations for 30 min on different days: (1) tSMS over the left DLPFC, (2) tSMS over the right DLPFC, and (3) sham stimulation over either the left or right DLPFC. The participants performed a Go/NoGo task before, immediately after, and 10 min after the stimulation. They were instructed to extend the right wrist in response to target stimuli. We recorded the electromyogram from the right wrist extensor muscles and analyzed erroneous responses (false alarm and missed target detection) and reaction times. As a result, 50% of the participants made erroneous responses, and there were five erroneous responses in total (0.003%). A series of statistical analyses revealed that tSMS did not affect the reaction time. These preliminary findings suggest the possibility that tSMS over the DLPFC is incapable of modulating inhibitory control and/or that the cognitive load imposed in this study was insufficient to detect the effect.

The effect of prior knowledge of color on reaction time depends on visual modality

“…The mean error ratios are presented in Table 2 . No statistical test was performed for the error ratios because most participants made no or few errors [ 21 ].…”

“…Each task was performed using two different signal presentation devices: an LED lighting device (Light condition) and an LCD monitor (Monitor condition). In the Light condition, a custom-made LED lighting device (4 Assist, Tokyo, Japan) was used to present blue and red lights [ 21 ]. Red and blue LED bulbs were placed close to each other, and these lights were visible from one spot through a hole (5 mm) created in the device.…”

Effects of transcranial static magnetic field stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on random number generation

“…Previous work investigating the potential of tSMS for modulating DLPFC function has yielded varied results. For example, Watanabe et al (2021) observed that applying tSMS for 30 minutes over the left DLPFC did not affect performance in a Go/noGO task (Watanabe et al, 2021). On the other hand, tSMS over the left DLPFC decreased performance in a working memory n-back task without affecting the reaction times (Chen et al, 2021).…”

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for the Modulation of Aggressive Behavior—A Systematic Review of Randomized Sham-Controlled Studies

“…Despite these promising findings, some papers reported null effects of tDCS [ 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 ] and rTMS [ 168 , 169 , 170 ], and TBS research is still in its early stage, showing the need for further research and systematic reviews of the literature to consolidate results and address inconsistent findings.…”