Towards optimized methodological parameters for maximizing the behavioral effects of transcranial direct current stimulation.

Publication/Presentation Date

1-1-2024

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) administers low-intensity direct current electrical stimulation to brain regions via electrodes arranged on the surface of the scalp. The core promise of tDCS is its ability to modulate brain activity and affect performance on diverse cognitive functions (affording

METHODS: We surveyed tDCS effects on these various cognitive functions in healthy young adults, ultimately resulting in 721 effects across 106 published reports. Hierarchical Bayesian meta-regression models were fit to characterize how (and to what extent) these design parameters differentially predict the likelihood of positive/negative behavioral outcomes.

RESULTS: Consistent with many previous meta-analyses of tDCS effects, extensive variability was observed across tasks and measured outcomes. Consequently, most design parameters did not confer consistent advantages or disadvantages to behavioral effects-a domain-general model suggested an advantage to using within-subjects designs (versus between-subjects) and the tendency for cathodal stimulation (relative to anodal stimulation) to produce reduced behavioral effects, but these associations were scarcely-evident in domain-specific models.

DISCUSSION: These findings highlight the urgent need for tDCS studies to more systematically probe the effects of these parameters on behavior to fulfill the promise of identifying causal links between brain function and cognition.

Volume

18

First Page

1305446

Last Page

1305446

ISSN

1662-5161

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

39015825

Department(s)

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Document Type

Article

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