Di Fuccio Raffaele, Lardone Anna, De Luca Mariagiovanna, Ali Leila, Limone Pierpaolo, Marangolo Paola
Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Telematic University of Pegaso, Piazza dei Santi Apostoli 49, 00187 Rome, Italy.
Department of Humanities Studies, University Federico II, Via Porta di Massa 1, 80133 Naples, Italy.
Biomedicines. 2024 May 22;12(6):1146. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12061146.
The neurobiological effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have still not been unequivocally clarified. Some studies have suggested that the application of tDCS over the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) enhances different aspects of cognition in healthy and neurological individuals, exerting neural changes over the target area and its neural surroundings. In this systematic review, randomized sham-controlled trials in healthy and neurological adults were selected through a database search to explore whether tDCS over the IFG combined with cognitive training modulates functional connectivity or neural changes. Twenty studies were finally included, among which twelve measured tDCS effects through functional magnetic resonance (fMRI), two through functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and six through electroencephalography (EEG). Due to the high heterogeneity observed across studies, data were qualitatively described and compared to assess reliability. Overall, studies that combined fMRI and tDCS showed widespread changes in functional connectivity at both local and distant brain regions. The findings also suggested that tDCS may also modulate electrophysiological changes underlying the targeted area. However, these outcomes were not always accompanied by corresponding significant behavioral results. This work raises the question concerning the general efficacy of tDCS, the implications of which extend to the steadily increasing tDCS literature.
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