Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States.
Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2024 Aug;202:112388. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112388. Epub 2024 Jun 27.
Cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) is a form of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) that has demonstrated potential to modulate neural activity in a manner that may be conducive to improved cognitive performance. While other forms of NIBS, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), have received attention in the field as potential acute cognitive enhancers, CES remains relatively unexplored. The current study aimed to assess the efficacy of CES in improving acute cognitive performance under normal experimental conditions, as well as during sessions of induced situational anxiety (threat of shock or ToS). To study this question, participants completed a cognitive battery assessing processing speed and distinct aspects of executive functioning (working memory, inhibition, and task switching) in two separate sessions in which they received active and sham CES. Participants were randomly assigned to between subject groups of either situational anxiety (ToS) or control condition (no ToS). We predicted that active CES would improve performance on assessments of executive functioning (working memory, inhibition, and task switching) relative to sham CES under ToS. We did not find any significant effects of ToS, CES, or an interaction between ToS and CES for any measures of executive functioning or processing speed. These findings suggest that a single dose of CES does not enhance executive functioning or processing speed under normal conditions or during ToS.
经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）等其他形式的非侵入性脑刺激（NIBS）已被证明具有调节神经活动的潜力，可能有助于提高认知表现。虽然其他形式的非侵入性脑刺激，如经颅直流电刺激（tDCS），在该领域作为潜在的急性认知增强剂受到关注，但经颅交流电刺激（CES）仍相对未被探索。本研究旨在评估 CES 在正常实验条件下以及在诱发情境焦虑（电击威胁或 ToS）期间改善急性认知表现的功效。为了研究这个问题，参与者在两个单独的会议中完成了一个认知测试，评估了处理速度和执行功能的不同方面（工作记忆、抑制和任务转换），在这两个会议中，他们接受了主动和假 CES。参与者被随机分配到情境焦虑（ToS）或对照条件（无 ToS）的被试组。我们预测，与假 CES 相比，主动 CES 在 ToS 下会改善执行功能（工作记忆、抑制和任务转换）的表现。我们没有发现任何情境焦虑、CES 或情境焦虑和 CES 之间相互作用对任何执行功能或处理速度测量的显著影响。这些发现表明，单次 CES 剂量不能在正常情况下或在 ToS 期间增强执行功能或处理速度。
