Department of Neurology, Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45147, Essen, Germany.
Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2020 Dec 31;10(1):22434. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-80023-8.
Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been reported to enhance the acquisition of conditioned eyeblink responses (CR), a form of associative motor learning. The aim of the present study was to determine possible long-term effects of cerebellar tDCS on the acquisition and extinction of CRs. Delay eyeblink conditioning was performed in 40 young and healthy human participants. On day 1, 100 paired CS (conditioned stimulus)-US (unconditioned stimulus) trials were applied. During the first 50 paired CS-US trials, 20 participants received anodal cerebellar tDCS, and 20 participants received sham stimulation. On days 2, 8 and 29, 50 paired CS-US trials were applied, followed by 30 CS-only extinction trials on day 29. CR acquisition was not significantly different between anodal and sham groups. During extinction, CR incidences were significantly reduced in the anodal group compared to sham, indicating reduced retention. In the anodal group, learning related increase of CR magnitude tended to be reduced, and timing of CRs tended to be delayed. The present data do not confirm previous findings of enhanced acquisition of CRs induced by anodal cerebellar tDCS. Rather, the present findings suggest a detrimental effect of anodal cerebellar tDCS on CR retention and possibly CR performance.
小脑经颅直流电刺激(tDCS)已被报道可增强条件性眨眼反应(CR)的获得,这是一种联想运动学习形式。本研究旨在确定小脑 tDCS 对 CR 的获得和消退的可能长期影响。在 40 名年轻健康的人类参与者中进行了延迟眨眼条件反射。在第 1 天,进行了 100 次配对 CS(条件刺激)-US(非条件刺激)试验。在前 50 次配对 CS-US 试验中,20 名参与者接受了阳极小脑 tDCS,而 20 名参与者接受了假刺激。在第 2、8 和 29 天,进行了 50 次配对 CS-US 试验,然后在第 29 天进行了 30 次 CS 仅消退试验。阳极组和假刺激组的 CR 获得没有显著差异。在消退过程中,与假刺激组相比,阳极组的 CR 发生率显著降低,表明保留减少。在阳极组中,CR 幅度的学习相关增加趋于减少,CR 的时间趋于延迟。目前的数据并不证实先前关于阳极小脑 tDCS 增强 CR 获得的发现。相反,目前的发现表明阳极小脑 tDCS 对 CR 保留和可能的 CR 表现有不利影响。