Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/11434/2009
Title: Transcranial random noise stimulation is more effective than transcranial direct current stimulation for enhancing working memory in healthy individuals: Behavioural and electrophysiological evidence.
Epworth Authors: Murphy, Oscar
Hoy, Kate
Bailey, Neil
Fitzgerald, Paul
Other Authors: Wong, Dana
Segrave, Rebecca
Keywords: Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
DFPLC
EEG
Working Memory
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
tDCS
Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation
tRNS
Neurophysiological Activity
Epworth Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, Epworth Healthcare, Camberwell, Victoria, Australia
Rehabilitation, Mental Health and Chronic Pain Clinical Institute, Epworth HealthCare, Victoria, Australia
Issue Date: Sep-2020
Publisher: Elsevier
Citation: 13(5) 1370-1380
Abstract: Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to improve working memory (WM) performance in healthy individuals, however effects tend to be modest and variable. Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) can be delivered with a direct-current offset (DC-offset) to induce equal or even greater effects on cortical excitability than tDCS. To-date, no research has directly compared the effects of these techniques on WM performance or underlying neurophysiological activity. Objective: To compare the effects of anodal tDCS, tRNS + DC-offset, or sham stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on WM performance and task-related EEG oscillatory activity in healthy adults. Methods: Using a between-subjects design, 49 participants were allocated to receive either anodal tDCS (N = 16), high-frequency tRNS + DC-offset (N = 16), or sham stimulation (N = 17) to the left DLPFC. Changes in WM performance were assessed using the Sternberg WM task completed before and 5- and 25-min post-stimulation. Event-related synchronisation/desynchronisation (ERS/ERD) of oscillatory activity was analysed from EEG recorded during WM encoding and maintenance. Results: tRNS induced more pronounced and consistent enhancements in WM accuracy when compared to both tDCS and sham stimulation. Improvements in WM performance following tRNS were accompanied by increased theta ERS and diminished gamma ERD during WM encoding, which were significantly greater than those observed following anodal tDCS or sham stimulation. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the potential of tRNS + DC-offset to modulate cognitive and electrophysiological measures of WM and raise the possibility that tRNS + DC-offset may be more effective and reliable than tDCS for enhancing WM performance in healthy individuals.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11434/2009
DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2020.07.001
PubMed URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32659482/
ISSN: 1935-861X
Journal Title: Brain Stimulation
Type: Journal Article
Affiliated Organisations: Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Central Clinical School, The Alfred and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Psychological Science and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Department of Psychiatry, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Brain and Mental Health Research Hub, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Type of Clinical Study or Trial: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Appears in Collections:Mental Health

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