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Updated: Apr 25, 2026
High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation During Sleep
Published on: December 5, 2025
Transcranial oscillatory direct current stimulation during sleep improves declarative memory consolidation in
Alexander Prehn-Kristensen1, Manuel Munz1, Robert Göder2
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Integrative Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany.
Insights
Transcranial oscillating direct current stimulation (toDCS) improved slow brain waves during sleep in children with ADHD. This intervention boosted memory performance, addressing deficits linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Science
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Slow oscillations during sleep are crucial for declarative memory consolidation.
- Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit impaired sleep-dependent memory consolidation, potentially due to abnormal slow brain rhythms.
- Deficits in declarative memory are a common challenge for children with ADHD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if transcranial oscillating direct current stimulation (toDCS) can enhance slow oscillations during early sleep in children with ADHD.
- To determine if this enhancement improves memory performance in children with ADHD.
- To compare the effects of toDCS with a sham condition in a controlled study.
Main Methods:
- A double-blind, crossover study involving 12 children with ADHD in a sleep laboratory.
- Participants underwent both toDCS and sham stimulation sessions.
- A 2D object-location memory task was used for assessment, with a control group of 12 healthy children tested at home.
Main Results:
- toDCS significantly increased slow oscillation power in children with ADHD during sleep.
- Memory performance in children with ADHD improved to levels comparable to healthy children after toDCS.
- The study demonstrated a direct link between enhanced slow oscillations and improved memory function.
Conclusions:
- Externally increasing slow oscillation power via toDCS can effectively mitigate declarative memory deficits in children with ADHD.
- This neurostimulation technique offers a promising therapeutic approach for improving cognitive function in pediatric ADHD.
- Targeting sleep brain rhythms presents a novel strategy for addressing memory impairments in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Background:
Slow oscillations (<1 Hz) during slow wave sleep (SWS) promote the consolidation of declarative memory. Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been shown to display deficits in sleep-dependent consolidation of declarative memory supposedly due to dysfunctional slow brain rhythms during SWS.
Objective:
Using transcranial oscillating direct current stimulation (toDCS) at 0.75 Hz, we investigated whether an externally triggered increase in slow oscillations during early SWS elevates memory performance in children with ADHD.
Methods:
12 children with ADHD underwent a toDCS and a sham condition in a double-blind crossover study design conducted in a sleep laboratory. Memory was tested using a 2D object-location task. In addition, 12 healthy children performed the same memory task in their home environment.
Results:
Stimulation enhanced slow oscillation power in children with ADHD and boosted memory performance to the same level as in healthy children.
Conclusion:
These data indicate that increasing slow oscillation power during sleep by toDCS can alleviate declarative memory deficits in children with ADHD.
