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Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on neural networks in young and older adults

Martin, Andrew K., Meinzer, Marcus, Lindenberg, Robert, Sieg, Mira M., Nachtigall, Laura, Flöel, Agnes (2017) Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on neural networks in young and older adults. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 29 (11). pp. 1817-1828. ISSN 0898-929X. (doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01166) (KAR id:79701)

Abstract

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may be a viable tool to improve motor and cognitive function in advanced age. However, although a number of studies have demonstrated improved cognitive performance in older adults, other studies have failed to show restorative effects. The neural effects of beneficial stimulation response in both age groups is lacking. In the current study, tDCS was administered during simultaneous fMRI in 42 healthy young and older participants. Semantic word generation and motor speech baseline tasks were used to investigate behavioral and neural effects of uni-and bihemispheric motor cortex tDCS in a three-way, crossover, sham tDCS controlled design. Independent components analysis assessed differences in task-related activity between the two age groups and tDCS effects. at the network level. We also explored whether laterality of language network organization was effected by tDCS. Behaviorally, both active tDCS conditions significantly improved semantic word retrieval performance in young and older adults and were comparable between groups and stimulation conditions. Network-level tDCS effects were identified in the ventral and dorsal anterior cingulate networks in the combined sample during semantic fluency and motor speech tasks. In addition, a shift toward enhanced left laterality was identified in the older adults for both active stimulation conditions. Thus, tDCS results in common network-level modulations and behavioral improvements for both age groups, with an additional effect of increasing left laterality in older adults.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1162/jocn_a_01166
Uncontrolled keywords: Independent component analysis; Medical problems; Semantics, Cognitive functions; Cognitive performance; Common networks; Direct current; Independent components analysis; Language networks; Task-related activity; Word retrieval, Behavioral research, adult; aged; Article; behavior change; cingulate gyrus; controlled study; dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; female; functional magnetic resonance imaging; hemispheric dominance; human; human experiment; left hemisphere; male; mental performance; mental task; motor cortex; motor performance; nerve cell network; nerve stimulator; neuromodulation; nonverbal communication; normal human; nuclear magnetic resonance scanner; priority journal; right hemisphere; semantics; speech intelligibility; transcranial direct current stimulation; ventral anterior cingulate cortex; word processing; young adult; aging; analysis of variance; blood; brain mapping; diagnostic imaging; electroencephalography; image processing; middle aged; nerve tract; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; physiology; psychomotor performance; reaction time; short term memory; verbal learning, oxygen, Adult; Aged; Aging; Analysis of Variance; Brain Mapping; Electroencephalography; Female; Functional Laterality; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Memory, Short-Term; Middle Aged; Motor Cortex; Neural Pathways; Oxygen; Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time; Semantics; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Verbal Learning; Young Adult
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Andrew Martin
Date Deposited: 04 Feb 2020 12:49 UTC
Last Modified: 06 Mar 2023 12:26 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/79701 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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