چکیده (انگلیسی):

the capacity for transcranial direct current
stimulation (tDCS) to increase learning and cognition
shows promise for the development of enhanced therapeutic
interventions. One potential application is the combination
of tDCS with cognitive training (CT), a psychological
intervention which aims to improve targeted cognitive
abilities. We have previously shown that tDCS enhanced
performance accuracy, but not skill acquisition, on a dual
n-back working memory (WM) CT task over repeated
sessions. In the current study, we investigated the optimal
timing for combining tDCS with the same CT task to
enhance within and between session performance outcomes
across two daily CT sessions. Twenty healthy participants
received in a randomised order 30 min of anodal tDCS to
the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex immediately before
(‘offline’ tDCS) and during performance (‘online’ tDCS)
on a dual n-back WM CT task, in an intra-individual crossover
design. Analyses examined within and between session
consolidation effects of tDCS on CT performance outcomes.
Results showed that ‘online’ tDCS was associated with better within session skill acquisition on the CT task,
with a significant difference found between conditions the
following day. These results suggest that ‘online’ tDCS is
superior to ‘offline’ tDCS for enhancing skill acquisition
when combining anodal tDCS with CT. This finding may
assist with the development of enhanced protocols involving
the combination of tDCS with CT and other rehabilitation
protocols.