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Updated: Sep 26, 2025
Modulating Cognition Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Cerebellum
Published on: February 15, 2015
The Infraslow Frequency Oscillatory Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Over the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal
Jingwen Qiao1, Xinyu Li2, Youhao Wang1
1Academy for Engineering and Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Background:
The vigilance fluctuation and decrement of sustained attention have large detrimental consequences to most tasks in daily life, especially among the elderly. Non-invasive brain stimulations (e.g., transcranial direct current stimulation, tDCS) have been widely applied to improve sustained attention, however, with mixed results.
Objective:
An infraslow frequency oscillatory tDCS approach was designed to improve sustained attention.
Methods:
The infraslow frequency oscillatory tDCS (O-tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex at 0.05 Hz was designed and compared with conventional tDCS (C-tDCS) to test whether this new protocol improves sustained attention more effectively. The sustained attention was evaluated by reaction time and accuracy.
Results:
Compared with the C-tDCS and sham, the O-tDCS significantly enhanced sustained attention by increasing response accuracy, reducing response time, and its variability. These effects were predicted by the evoked oscillation of response time at the stimulation frequency.
Conclusion:
Similar to previous studies, the modulation effect of C-tDCS on sustained attention is weak and unstable. In contrast, the O-tDCS effectively and systematically enhances sustained attention by optimizing vigilance fluctuation. The modulation effect of O-tDCS is probably driven by neural oscillations at the infraslow frequency range.
