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Modulating behavioral inhibition by tDCS combined with cognitive training

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Abstract

Cognitive training is an effective tool to improve a variety of cognitive functions, and a small number of studies have now shown that brain stimulation accompanying these training protocols can enhance their effects. In the domain of behavioral inhibition, little is known about how training can affect this skill. As for transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), it was previously found that stimulation over the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) facilitates behavioral inhibition performance and modulates its electrophysiological correlates. This study aimed to investigate this behavioral facilitation in the context of a learning paradigm by giving tDCS over rIFG repetitively over four consecutive days of training on a behavioral inhibition task (stop signal task (SST)). Twenty-two participants took part; ten participants were assigned to receive anodal tDCS (1.5 mA, 15 min), 12 were assigned to receive training but not active stimulation. There was a significant effect of training on learning and performance in the SST, and the integration of the training and rIFG–tDCS produced a more linear learning slope. Better performance was also found in the active stimulation group. Our findings show that tDCS-combined cognitive training is an effective tool for improving the ability to inhibit responses. The current study could constitute a step toward the use of tDCS and cognitive training as a therapeutic tool for cognitive control impairments in conditions such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or schizophrenia.

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Acknowledgments

TD, VW, and ML are members of the Marie Curie ITN-LAN network funded by the EC. LJ and ML are supported by an ERC start-up grant awarded to ML. VW is supported a Royal Society Industry Fellow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK

    Thomas Ditye & Vincent Walsh

  2. The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Liron Jacobson & Michal Lavidor

  3. Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel

    Michal Lavidor

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK

    Michal Lavidor

Authors
  1. Thomas Ditye
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  2. Liron Jacobson
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  3. Vincent Walsh
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  4. Michal Lavidor
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michal Lavidor.

Additional information

Thomas Ditye and Liron Jacobson contributed equally to this work.

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Ditye, T., Jacobson, L., Walsh, V. et al. Modulating behavioral inhibition by tDCS combined with cognitive training. Exp Brain Res 219, 363–368 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3098-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3098-4

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