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It's the Thought That Counts: Examining the Task-dependent Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Executive Function
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Background Prior investigations employing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have shown that stimulation can elicit subsequent improvement on tests of various cognitive abilities, including working memory. While stimulation parameters such as intensity and duration are known to determine the effects of tDCS, the degree to which stimulation effects are influenced by the nature of cognitive activities during stimulation remains unclear. Objective/hypothesis To determine whether manipulating the working memory load of a task performed during stimulation would modulate tDCS-induced enhancement of performance on a different, related measure after stimulation. Methods In two separate but closely related sham-controlled experiments, two groups of healthy subjects underwent anodal tDCS (2 mA) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for 20 min. In Experiment 1, subjects (n = 11) trained on a letter 3Back task during stimulation. In Experiment 2 subjects (n = 11) trained on a letter 1Back task, which resembled the 3Back task but featured a lower working memory load. In both experiments, before and after stimulation, subjects completed an adjusting Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (A-PASAT). Both the experimenter and subjects were blind to stimulation conditions in both experiments. Results Subjects were both faster and more accurate on the A-PASAT task after receiving real tDCS paired with 3Back training (Experiment1) compared to sham+3Back, real+1Back, and sh…
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“Cognitive training task difficulty may also impact the efficacy of tDCS, as behavioral improvements occur specifically when stimulation is paired with higher demanding tasks [67].”
From Primary outcome from the augmenting cognitive training in older adults study (ACT): A tDCS and cognitive training randomized clinical trial (2023) · cites this paper as [67]
Citations
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“The current employed in tDCS is insufficient to directly stimulate action potentials in neurons, and is instead believed to induce incremental shifts in neuronal membrane potentials that alter the likelihood of neurons firing over time [22,23].”
MethodSustained excitability elevations induced by transcranial DC motor cortex stimulation in humans
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“The current employed in tDCS is insufficient to directly stimulate action potentials in neurons, and is instead believed to induce incremental shifts in neuronal membrane potentials that alter the likelihood of neurons firing over time [22,23].”
MethodPaced Auditory Serial-Addition Task: A Measure of Recovery from Concussion
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Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of prefrontal cortex enhances working memory
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“Methods: In two separate but closely related sham-controlled experiments, two groups of healthy subjects underwent anodal tDCS (2 mA) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for 20 min.”
MethodInfluentialBatsikadze, G., Moliadze, V., Paulus, W., Kuo, M. ‐., & Nitsche, M. A. (2013) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2012.249730 · Cited by 1,017 · cited 1×
“direction of current flow impact changes in neural excitability [6] and cognitive function [3,7,8].”
BackgroundFunctional MRI studies of spatial and nonspatial working memory
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“Numerous studies have paired tDCS with specific cognitive or behavioral tasks [5,11,12], operating under the assumption that a complementary or additive relationship exists between stimulation and task rehearsal.”
BackgroundA comprehensive review of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT)
Tombaugh, T. N. (2005) · Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology · doi:10.1016/j.acn.2005.07.006 · Cited by 652 · cited 2×
“We tested this hypothesis by administering an adjusting version of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (A-PASAT) before and after stimulation [20].”
Method
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Research works printed but not linked: 1
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Non-invasive brain stimulation and cognition
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Using Brain Stimulation to Enhance Working Memory: A Charged Topic
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The Effects of tDCS on Speech Motor Control in Younger and Older Adults
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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Woods, A. J., Antal, A., Bikson, M., Celnik, P. A., Fregni, F., Knotková, H., Liebetanz, D., Miniussi, C., Paulus, W., Reato, D., et al. (2016)
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Vikten av relationer : En inblick i lärares uppfattningar om sitt relationsarbete gentemot elever
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Nissim, N. R., & Woods, A. J. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_721-1
TDCS MODULATES WORKING MEMORY MAINTENANCE PROCESSES IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALSPreprint
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“Indeed, the optimal reinforcement of brain activation appears to occur when the target brain network is either already activated or in a pre-activated state, thereby strengthening the network’s activation through stimulation [128].”
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“…of learning in complex training scenarios for two reasons: more difficult and cognitively demanding tasks are more likely to benefit from tDCS (Gill et al., 2015; Matzen et al., 2015), and tDCS appears to have particularly large effect sizes in the domain of accelerated learning (Clark et…”
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Self-citationImproving aphasia with daily sessions of tDCS: an open-label study coupled to high-density EEG
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“Importantly, while tDCS is sometimes paired with a task to enhance the effects of the stimulation on the specific cognitive function ‘trained’ by or involved in such a task, individual differences in task performance, demand and difficulty can interfere with the effects of tDCS [63–65].”
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Home Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation With Gamified Cognitive Control Training for Depression
Dechantsreiter, E., Padberg, F., Benjamini, Y., Goerigk, S. A., Rubene, L., Konosonoka, L., Vogelmann, U., Cohen, T., Lerner, N., Burkhardt, G., et al. (2026) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.39400
Metadata
- Authors
- Gill, J., Shah-Basak, P. P., & Hamilton, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hamilton, Roy
- Venue
- Brain Stimulation
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-03
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 253-259
- ISSN
- 1876-4754 (ISSN-L)
- 1935-861X
- OpenAlex
- W2047762347
- Cited by
- 224
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 10
- FWCI
- 12.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doaj.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Brain stimulation (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- University of Pennsylvania – Center for Undergraduate Research for funding this research
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- transcranial direct current stimulation, executive function, working memory load, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anodal tDCS, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, 3-back task, non-invasive brain stimulation
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Psychomotor Performance, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult, Executive Function, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
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