Ehrhardt Shane E, Wards Yohan, Shaw Thomas B, Garner Kelly G, Bollmann Steffen, Mattingley Jason B, Dux Paul E, Filmer Hannah L
School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, McElwain Building, Campbell Road, St Lucia, 4072, QLD, Australia.
Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Building 57, Research Road, St Lucia, 4072, QLD, Australia.
Cereb Cortex. 2025 Aug 1;35(8). doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf229.
Brain stimulation shows promise as an intervention to enhance executive function, particularly when paired with cognitive training. To optimize such approaches, we must understand the potential role of individual differences in intervention outcomes. We investigated the combined effects of multi-session multitasking training and prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on generalization of performance benefits, focusing on how cortical morphology predicts performance improvements. One hundred seventy-eight individuals underwent 7 Tesla MRI before completing multisession training with online stimulation. A cognitive task battery assessed improvements in trained and untrained tasks pre- and post-training. Stimulating the left or right prefrontal cortex at 1 mA during multitasking training enhanced transfer to a visual search task. Critically, cortical morphology predicted stimulation efficacy for inducing transfer. Cortical thickness in regions beneath the stimulating anode was related to reaction time changes in the most difficult visual search condition but only for the left and right 1 mA multitasking training groups. Performance was not related to cortical thickness for the groups receiving sham stimulation, 2 mA stimulation, or 1 mA stimulation with a control training task. These results highlight the importance of individual anatomical differences in modulating tDCS efficacy and identifying specific neuroanatomical features that predict generalized performance gains from combining tDCS with cognitive training.
脑刺激作为一种增强执行功能的干预手段显示出前景,尤其是与认知训练相结合时。为了优化此类方法,我们必须了解个体差异在干预结果中的潜在作用。我们研究了多阶段多任务训练和前额叶经颅直流电刺激(tDCS)对性能提升泛化的联合影响,重点关注皮质形态如何预测性能改善。178名个体在完成在线刺激的多阶段训练之前接受了7特斯拉磁共振成像(MRI)。一组认知任务评估了训练前后在已训练和未训练任务中的改善情况。在多任务训练期间以1毫安刺激左或右前额叶皮质可增强向视觉搜索任务的迁移。关键的是,皮质形态预测了诱导迁移的刺激效果。刺激阳极下方区域的皮质厚度与最困难视觉搜索条件下的反应时间变化有关,但仅适用于左、右1毫安多任务训练组。接受假刺激、2毫安刺激或1毫安刺激并搭配对照训练任务的组的性能与皮质厚度无关。这些结果突出了个体解剖差异在调节tDCS效果以及识别预测tDCS与认知训练相结合带来的泛化性能提升的特定神经解剖特征方面的重要性。
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