Practice improves older adults' attentional control and prospective memory more than HD-tDCS: a randomized controlled...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Frontal and parietal brain regions are crucial for attentional control and prospective memory.
• The impact of modulating activity in these regions on older adults' cognitive performance remains debated.
• Individual differences in cognitive aging necessitate targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) on cognitive task performance in older adults.
• To determine if modulating frontal and parietal brain activity influences attentional control and prospective memory.
• To explore the relationship between brain stimulation, cognitive performance, and physiological responses (heart rate).

Main Methods:

• A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study involving 106 healthy adults aged 60-75.
• HD-tDCS applied to the left/right inferior frontal lobe or right superior parietal lobe (1 mA for 20 min).
• Task performance evaluated in laboratory and at-home settings across two visits; heart rates were monitored.

Main Results:

• Task performance improved in laboratory settings by the second visit but declined in at-home tasks.
• HD-tDCS did not alter performance changes in laboratory tasks.
• Stimulation prevented performance decline in at-home tasks and increased heart rates when right inferior frontal lobe activity was inhibited.

Conclusions:

• Repeated task exposure may be more beneficial than HD-tDCS for laboratory-based cognitive tasks in older adults.
• HD-tDCS can mitigate performance decline in at-home cognitive tasks.
• Inhibition of right frontal brain activity may increase heart rate, potentially via modulation of the frontal-vagal brain-heart axis.