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Updated: Aug 28, 2025
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Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS for Memory Enhancement
Published on: September 18, 2021
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Personalized brain stimulation of memory networks.
Robin F H Cash1, Joshua Hendrikse2, Kavisha B Fernando3
1Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
Brain Stimulation
|September 16, 2022
Summary
Personalizing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) targets based on individual brain connectivity improved memory performance. This approach addresses variability in TMS effects across individuals and scanners.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Neuromodulation
Background:
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has shown potential for enhancing memory performance by stimulating parietal sites within the Cortical-Hippocampal Network.
- However, initial replication attempts failed to demonstrate a significant influence of TMS on memory, suggesting a need to investigate sources of variability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if interindividual variations in brain connectivity architecture affect TMS outcomes for memory enhancement.
- To assess the efficacy of personalization methodologies in overcoming inconsistencies in TMS effects across different scanners and participant groups.
Main Methods:
- A recently developed personalization methodology was employed to identify individual-specific parietal stimulation targets using fMRI data.
- The relationship between the proximity of these personalized targets to actual stimulation sites and memory performance outcomes was analyzed.
Main Results:
- A closer alignment between actual and fMRI-personalized stimulation targets correlated with greater improvements in memory performance.
- This suggests that individual brain connectivity patterns are crucial for effective TMS-induced memory enhancement.
Conclusions:
- Aligning brain stimulation targets with individual-specific brain connectivity architecture is crucial for optimizing TMS efficacy.
- These findings extend previous research on personalized neuromodulation, particularly concerning prefrontal cortex stimulation, to the parietal cortex for memory enhancement.
