Publication details

Physiology-Inspired Bifocal Fronto-Parietal tACS for Working Memory Enhancement.

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Authors

PUPÍKOVÁ Monika MACEIRA-ELVIRA Pablo HARQUEL Sylvain ŠIMKO Patrik POPA Traian GAJDOŠ Martin LAMOŠ Martin NENCHA Umberto MITTEROVÁ Kristína ŠIMO Adam HUMMEL Friedhelm REKTOROVÁ Irena

Year of publication 2024
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Heliyon
MU Faculty or unit

Central European Institute of Technology

Citation
Web https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(24)13458-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2405844024134585%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37427
Keywords tACS; multifocal; orchestrated brain stimulation; healthy aging; cognition; systems neuroscience; electric field modelling; neuroimaging; working memory
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Description Aging populations face significant cognitive challenges, particularly in working memory (WM). Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) offer promising avenues for cognitive enhancement, especially when inspired by brain physiology. This study (NCT04986787) explores the effect of multifocal tACS on WM performance in healthy older adults, focusing on frontoparietal network modulation. Individualized physiology-inspired tACS applied to the frontoparietal network was investigated in two blinded cross-over experiments. The first experiment involved monofocal/bifocal theta-tACS to the fronto-parietal network, while in the second experiment cross-frequency theta-gamma interactions between these regions were explored. Participants have done online WM tasks under the stimulation conditions. Network connectivity was assessed via rs-fMRI and multichannel electroencephalography. Prefrontal monofocal theta tACS modestly improved WM accuracy over sham (d = 0.30). Fronto-parietal stimulation enhanced WM task processing speed, with the strongest effects for bifocal in-phase theta tACS (d = 0.41). Cross-frequency stimulations modestly boosted processing speed with or without impairing task accuracy depending on the stimulation protocol. This research adds to the understanding of physiology-inspired brain stimulation for cognitive enhancement in older subjects.
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