Stimulation of the dorsolateral-prefrontal cortex improves working memory and planning

Authors

  • Farzaneh Pouladi Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman, Iran , Department of Psychology, Adib mazandaran Institute of Higher Education, Mazandaran, Iran Author
  • Masood Bagheri Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman, Iran Author
  • Ghasem Askarizadeh Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman, Iran Author
  • Afsaneh Moradi Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/cbb.2021.25.01

Keywords:

transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS), dorsolateral-prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), working memory (WM), planning

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate whether working memory (WM) and planning performances can be enhanced using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). A total of 30 healthy individuals were randomly assigned to two groups: active (A)-tDCS and control (S)-tDCS. Anodal stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (F3) and cathodal stimulation over the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) (FP2) were further implemented at 2 mA in the A-tDCS group, while there was no intervention in the control group. The tools used were software versions of the three-level n-back task and Tower of London (TOL) task, and for each task we measured participants’ response accuracy and response time. The results showed a significant difference between the groups in both cognitive functions, suggesting that tDCS can improve response accuracy in memory and problem-solving ability, but it is less effective in terms of improving response time on planning. Overall, findings suggest that tDCS can enhance WM and planning performances.

Published

2021-03-31

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 1 (2021): Volume XXV, Nr 1

Section

Articles