Prefrontal tDCS and attention network function

What is it about?

The effect of acute transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on cortical attention networks remains unclear. We examined the effect of 20 min of 2 mA dorsolateral prefrontal cortex tDCS on the efficiency of alerting, orienting and executive attention networks measured by the attention network test. We compared active tDCS vs. sham tDCS on attention network function in healthy young adults and found that executive attention was greater following active vs. sham stimulation in the absence of effects on alerting, orienting, or global reaction times or error rates. Group differences were not moderated by state-mood. This suggests that 20 minutes of active 2 mA tDCS over left DLPFC is associated with greater executive attention in healthy humans.

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