Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Electrical brain stimulation (tES) improves learning more than performance: A meta-analysis.

Bianca A Simonsmeier1, Roland H Grabner2, Julia Hein1

  • 1Department of Educational Psychology, University of Trier, 54286 Trier, Germany.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|November 13, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Mental health status of workers in the semiconductor industry during the COVID-19 pandemic: comparisons between regions on three continents.

Frontiers in public health·2026
Same author

[Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery in 2026 : breakthroughs, challenges, and perspectives].

Revue medicale suisse·2026
Same author

The bilingual math dilemma - Language switching costs in declarative and procedural arithmetic knowledge.

Cognition·2026
Same author

Spinal Manipulation and Clinician-Supported Self-Management for Preventing Chronic Low Back Pain Impact: The PACBACK Randomized Clinical Trial.

JAMA internal medicine·2026
Same author

Increasing Case Numbers and Earlier Age at Diagnosis of Alveolar Echinococcosis: Insights from a 13-Year Retrospective Swiss Study.

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)·2026
Same author

Naïve CD4<sup>+</sup> T-cells and disease status at CART infusion correlate with clinical outcomes in real-world large B-cell lymphoma patients receiving second-line CAR T therapy.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

Dissecting first-episode psychosis heterogeneity with clustering analyses: a systematic review.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

Irisin and anxiety-like behaviors: Mechanistic integration of peripheral-central crosstalk, neuroinflammation and neural plasticity.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

Efficacy of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation in Alzheimer's Disease: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

Rhythms of interaction - the timescales of social coordination and why they matter.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

Neural Bases of Memory Development: Insights from Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

Regional heterogeneity of brain insulin resistance: From molecular pathways to neural circuits.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
See all related articles

Transcraneal electrical stimulation (tES) during learning significantly boosts cognitive performance more than during testing. This noninvasive brain stimulation shows promise for educational applications.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Educational Technology

Background:

  • Noninvasive brain stimulation techniques, particularly transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), are increasingly explored for their potential to enhance cognitive functions.
  • Public interest in tES has grown due to preliminary findings suggesting modest benefits for brain physiology, cognition, and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To conduct the first meta-analysis comparing the efficacy of tES applied during a learning phase versus during an assessment phase.
  • To investigate whether the timing of tES administration influences its effectiveness on cognitive tasks.

Main Methods:

  • A meta-analysis was performed, synthesizing 246 effect sizes from studies focusing on language and mathematical competence.
  • The analysis compared outcomes where tES was applied during learning versus during testing.
Keywords:
Brain stimulationLearningMeta-analysistDCStES

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • tES demonstrated a significantly stronger effect when administered during the learning phase (d=0.712) compared to the assessment phase (d=0.207).
  • The overall effect of tES was dependent on stimulation dosage and significant only for anodal, not cathodal, stimulation.
  • These findings suggest tES can modulate long-term synaptic plasticity relevant to learning.

Conclusions:

  • Applying tES during the learning phase is more effective for enhancing cognitive skills than during the assessment phase.
  • The results support the role of tES in modulating synaptic plasticity for practical learning tasks.
  • Further systematic research is warranted to optimize tES protocols for educational settings.