Abstract
This chapter provides an introduction to transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), a non-invasive method for modulating activity in the underlying cortex by delivering a weak electrical current through electrodes placed on the scalp. Starting with an introduction to different types of stimulation, we go on to discuss our current understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms of tES before reviewing its utility as a tool to enhance cognitive function during and after cognitive training. While there is some evidence that tES can be used in conjunction with cognitive training to improve both training gains and transfer to untrained cognitive tasks, the results are mixed and inconclusive with as many studies reporting null effects as those that report positive effects. We discuss possible reasons for these inconsistent results and conclude that to fully understand the potential benefits of tES for enhancing cognitive plasticity we must: (i) develop a better understanding of how the cellular mechanisms of tES contribute to changes at the level of the cortex and (ii) consider optimising tES protocols at the level of the individual.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ambrus, G. G., Paulus, W., & Antal, A. (2010). Cutaneous perception thresholds of electrical stimulation methods: Comparison of tDCS and tRNS. Clinical Neurophysiology, 121, 1908–1914.
Antal, A., & Paulus, W. (2013). Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 1–4.
Antal, A., Terney, D., Poreisz, C., & Paulus, W. (2007). Towards unravelling task-related modulations of neuroplastic changes induced in the human motor cortex. The European Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 2687–2691.
Antal, A., Boros, K., Poreisz, C., Chaieb, L., Terney, D., & Paulus, W. (2008). Comparatively weak after-effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on cortical excitability in humans. Brain Stimulation, 1, 97–105.
Antonenko, D., Faxel, M., Grittner, U., Lavidor, M., & Flöel, A. (2016). Effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation on cognitive functions in healthy young and older adults. Neural Plasticity, 2016, 1–13.
Au, J., Katz, B., Buschkuehl, M., Bunarjo, K., Senger, T., Zabel, C.,... & Jonides, J. (2016). Enhancing working memory training with transcranial direct current stimulation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 28, 1419–1432.
Bestmann, S., de Berker, A. O., & Bonaiuto, J. (2015). Understanding the behavioural consequences of noninvasive brain stimulation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19, 13–20.
Bikson, M., Inoue, M., Akiyama, H., Deans, J. K., Fox, J. E., Miyakawa, H., & Jefferys, J. G. (2004). Effects of uniform extracellular DC electric fields on excitability in rat hippocampal slices in vitro. Journal of Physiology, 557, 175–190.
Bikson, M., Rahman, A., & Datta, A. (2012). Computational models of transcranial direct current stimulation. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, 43, 176–183.
Bindman, L. J., Lippold, O. C. J., & Redfearn, J. W. T. (1964). The action of brief polarizing currents on the cerebral cortex of the rat (1) during current flow and (2) in the production of long-lasting after-effects. Journal of Physiology, 172, 369–382.
Bolzoni, F., Bączyk, M., & Jankowska, E. (2013). Subcortical effects of transcranial direct current stimulation in the rat. Journal of Physiology, 591, 4027–4042.
Brem, A. K., Almquist, J. N. F., Mansfield, K., Plessow, F., Sella, F., Santarnecchi, E.,... & Yeung, N. (2018). Modulating fluid intelligence performance through combined cognitive training and brain stimulation. Neuropsychologia, 118, 107–114.
Brunoni, A. R., & Vanderhasselt, M.-A. (2014). Working memory improvement with non-invasive brain stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain and Cognition, 86, 1–9.
Brunoni, A. R., Moffa, A. H., Sampaio-Junior, B., Borrione, L., Moreno, M. L., Fernandes, R. A.,... & Chamorro, R. (2017). Trial of electrical direct-current therapy versus escitalopram for depression. New England Journal of Medicine, 376, 2523–2533.
Byrne, E. M., Ewbank, M. P., Gathercole, S. E., Holmes, J. (in press). The effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on within- and cross-paradigm transfer following multi-session backward recall training. Brain and Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105552.
Cappelletti, M., Gessaroli, E., Hithersay, R., Mitolo, M., Didino, D., Kanai, R.,... & Walsh, V. (2013). Transfer of cognitive training across magnitude dimensions achieved with concurrent brain stimulation of the parietal lobe. Journal of Neuroscience, 33, 14899–14907.
Cappelletti, M., Pikkat, H., Upstill, E., Speekenbrink, M., & Walsh, V. (2015). Learning to integrate versus inhibiting information is modulated by age. Journal of Neuroscience, 35, 2213–2225.
Chaieb, L., Kovacs, G., Cziraki, C., Greenlee, M., Paulus, W., & Antal, A. (2009). Short-duration transcranial random noise stimulation induces blood oxygenation level dependent response attenuation in the human motor cortex. Experimental Brain Research, 198, 439–444.
Chaieb, L., Antal, A., & Paulus, W. (2011). Transcranial alternating current stimulation in the low kHz range increases motor cortex excitability. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 29, 167–175.
Cotelli, M., Manenti, R., Petesi, M., Brambilla, M., Cosseddu, M., Zanetti, O.,... & Borroni, B. (2014a). Treatment of primary progressive aphasias by transcranial direct current stimulation combined with language training. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 39, 799–808.
Cotelli, M., Manenti, R., Brambilla, M., Petesi, M., Rosini, S., Ferrari, C.,... & Miniussi, C. (2014b). Anodal tDCS during face-name associations memory training in Alzheimer’s patients. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 6, 38.
Creutzfeldt, O. D., Fromm, G. H., & Kapp, H. (1962). Influence of transcortical d-c currents on cortical neuronal activity. Experimental Neurology, 5, 436–452.
DaSilva, A. F., Volz, M. S., Bikson, M., & Fregni, F. (2011). Electrode positioning and montage in transcranial direct current stimulation. Journal of Visualized Experiments. https://doi.org/10.3791/2744.
de Berker, A. O., Bikson, M., & Bestmann, S. (2013). Predicting the behavioral impact of transcranial direct current stimulation: Issues and limitations. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 613.
Ditye, T., Jacobson, L., Walsh, V., & Lavidor, M. (2012). Modulating behavioral inhibition by tDCS combined with cognitive training. Experimental Brain Research, 219, 363–368.
Dockery, C. A., Hueckel-Weng, R., Birbaumer, N., & Plewnia, C. (2009). Enhancement of planning ability by transcranial direct current stimulation. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 7271–7277.
Elmasry, J., Loo, C., & Martin, D. M. (2015). A systematic review of transcranial electrical stimulation combined with cognitive training. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 33, 263–278.
Fritsch, B., Reis, J., Martinowich, K., Schambra, H. M., Ji, Y., Cohen, L. G., & Lu, B. (2010). Direct current stimulation promotes BDNF-dependent synaptic plasticity: Potential implications for motor learning. Neuron, 66, 198–204.
Fröhlich, F., & McCormick, D. A. (2010). Endogenous electric fields may guide neocortical network activity. Neuron, 67, 129–143.
Gartside, I. B. (1968). Mechanisms of sustained increases of firing rate of neurones in the rat cerebral cortex after polarization: Role of protein synthesis (24). Nature, 220, 383–384.
Hämmerer, D., Bonaiuto, J., Klein-Flügge, M., Bikson, M., & Bestmann, S. (2016). Selective alteration of human value decisions with medial frontal tDCS is predicted by changes in attractor dynamics. Scientific Reports, 6, 25160.
Hattori, Y., Moriwaki, A., & Hori, Y. (1990). Biphasic effects of polarizing current on adenosine-sensitive generation of cyclic AMP in rat cerebral cortex. Neuroscience Letters, 116, 320–324.
Helfrich, R. F., Schneider, T. R., Rach, S., Trautmann-Lengsfeld, S. A., Engel, A. K., & Herrmann, C. S. (2014). Entrainment of brain oscillations by transcranial alternating current stimulation. Current Biology, 24, 333–339.
Holmes, J., Byrne, E. M., Gathercole, S. E., & Ewbank, M. P. (2016). Transcranial random noise stimulation does not enhance the effects of working memory training. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 28, 1–13.
Horvath, J. C., Forte, J. D., & Carter, O. (2015). Quantitative review finds no evidence of cognitive effects in healthy populations from single-session transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Brain Stimulation, 8, 535–550.
Hoy, K. E., Bailey, N., Arnold, S., Windsor, K., John, J., Daskalakis, Z. J., & Fitzgerald, P. B. (2015). The effect of γ-tACS on working memory performance in healthy controls. Brain and Cognition, 101, 51–56.
Islam, N., Aftabuddin, M., Moriwaki, A., Hattori, Y., & Hori, Y. (1995). Increase in the calcium level following anodal polarization in the rat brain. Brain Research, 684, 206–208.
Jones, K. T., Stephens, J. A., Alam, M., Bikson, M., & Berryhill, M. E. (2015). Longitudinal neurostimulation in older adults improves working memory. PLoS One, 10, e0121904.
Kabakov, A. Y., Muller, P. A., Pascual-Leone, A., Jensen, F. E., & Rotenberg, A. (2012). Contribution of axonal orientation to pathway-dependent modulation of excitatory transmission by direct current stimulation in isolated rat hippocampus. Journal of Neurophysiology, 107, 1881–1889.
Krause, B., & Cohen Kadosh, R. (2014). Not all brains are created equal: The relevance of individual differences in responsiveness to transcranial electrical stimulation. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 8, 25.
Kuo, M.-F., & Nitsche, M. A. (2012). Effects of transcranial electrical stimulation on cognition. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, 43, 192–199.
Lally, N., Nord, C.L., Walsh, V., Roiser, J.P. (2013). Does excitatory fronto-extracephalic tDCS lead to improved working memory performance? F1000Research. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.2-219.v1.
Looi, C. Y., Lim, J., Sella, F., Lolliot, S., Duta, M., Avramenko, A. A., & Kadosh, R. C. (2017). Transcranial random noise stimulation and cognitive training to improve learning and cognition of the atypically developing brain: A pilot study. Scientific Reports, 7, 1–10.
López-Alonso, V., Cheeran, B., Río-Rodríguez, D., & Fernández-del-Olmo, M. (2014). Inter-individual variability in response to Non-invasive brain stimulation paradigms. Brain Stimulation, 7, 372–380.
Mancuso, L. E., Ilieva, I. P., Hamilton, R. H., & Farah, M. J. (2016). Does transcranial direct current stimulation improve healthy working memory?: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 28, 1063–1089.
Manenti, R., Cotelli, M. S., Cobelli, C., Gobbi, E., Brambilla, M., Rusich, D.,... & Cotelli, M. (2018). Transcranial direct current stimulation combined with cognitive training for the treatment of Parkinson disease: A randomized, placebo-controlled study. Brain Stimulation, 11, 1251–1262.
Martin, D. M., Liu, R., Alonzo, A., Green, M., & Loo, C. K. (2014). Use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to enhance cognitive training: Effect of timing of stimulation. Experimental Brain Research, 232, 3345–3351.
Meinzer, M., Jähnigen, S., Copland, D. A., Darkow, R., Grittner, U., Avirame, K.,... & Flöel, A. (2014). Transcranial direct current stimulation over multiple days improves learning and maintenance of a novel vocabulary. Cortex, 50, 137–147.
Meinzer, M., Darkow, R., Lindenberg, R., & Flöel, A. (2016). Electrical stimulation of the motor cortex enhances treatment outcome in post-stroke aphasia. Brain, 139, 1152–1163.
Meiron, O., & Lavidor, M. (2014). Prefrontal oscillatory stimulation modulates access to cognitive control references in retrospective metacognitive commentary. Clinical Neurophysiology, 125, 77–82.
Moliadze, V., Antal, A., & Paulus, W. (2010). Boosting brain excitability by transcranial high frequency stimulation in the ripple range. Journal of Physiology, 588, 4891–4904.
Moliadze, V., Atalay, D., Antal, A., & Paulus, W. (2012). Close to threshold transcranial electrical stimulation preferentially activates inhibitory networks before switching to excitation with higher intensities. Brain Stimulation, 5, 505–511.
Moreno-Duarte, I., Gebodh, N., Schestatsky, P., Guleyupoglu, B., Reato, D., Bikson, M., & Fregni, F. (2014). Transcranial electrical stimulation: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), transcranial pulsed current stimulation (tPCS), and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS). In R. C. Kadosh (Ed.), The stimulated brain: Cognitive enhancement using non-invasive brain stimulation (pp. 35–59). London, UK: Academic Press.
Morrison, A. B., & Chein, J. M. (2011). Does working memory training work? The promise and challenges of enhancing cognition by training working memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 18, 46–60.
Nieratschker, V., Kiefer, C., Giel, K., Krüger, R., & Plewnia, C. (2015). The COMT Val/met polymorphism modulates effects of tDCS on response inhibition. Brain Stimulation, 8, 283–288.
Nilsson, J., Lebedev, A. V., Rydström, A., & Lövdén, M. (2017). Direct-current stimulation does little to improve the outcome of working memory training in older adults. Psychological Science, 28, 907–920.
Nitsche, M. A., & Paulus, W. (2000). Excitability changes induced in the human motor cortex by weak transcranial direct current stimulation. Journal of Physiology, 527, 633–639.
Nitsche, M. A., & Paulus, W. (2001). Sustained excitability elevations induced by transcranial DC motor cortex stimulation in humans. Neurology, 57, 1899–1901.
Nitsche, M. A., & Paulus, W. (2011). Transcranial direct current stimulation - update 2011. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 29, 463–492.
Nitsche, M. A., Nitsche, M. S., Klein, C. C., Tergau, F., Rothwell, J. C., & Paulus, W. (2003). Level of action of cathodal DC polarisation induced inhibition of the human motor cortex. Clinical Neurophysiology, 114, 600–604.
Nitsche, M. A., Cohen, L. G., Wassermann, E. M., Priori, A., Lang, N., Antal, A.,... & Pascual-Leone, A. (2008). Transcranial direct current stimulation: State of the art 2008. Brain Stimulation, 1, 206–223.
Nord, C. L., Lally, N., & Charpentier, C. J. (2013). Harnessing electric potential: DLPFC tDCS induces widespread brain perfusion changes. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 7, 99.
Nord, C. L., Halahakoon, D. C., Limbachya, T., Charpentier, C., Lally, N., Walsh, V.,... & Roiser, J. P. (2019). Neural predictors of treatment response to brain stimulation and psychological therapy in depression: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Neuropsychopharmacology, 44, 1613–1622.
O’Shea, J., Boudrias, M. H., Stagg, C. J., Bachtiar, V., Kischka, U., Blicher, J. U., & Johansen-Berg, H. (2014). Predicting behavioural response to TDCS in chronic motor stroke. NeuroImage, 85, 924–933.
Pahor, A., & Jaušovec, N. (2014). The effects of theta transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on fluid intelligence. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 93, 322–331.
Park, S. H., Seo, J. H., Kim, Y. H., & Ko, M. H. (2014). Long-term effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with computer-assisted cognitive training in healthy older adults. Neuroreport, 25, 122–126.
Parkin, B. L., Ekhtiari, H., & Walsh, V. F. (2015). Non-invasive human brain stimulation in cognitive neuroscience: A primer. Neuron, 87, 932–945.
Parkin, B. L., Bhandari, M., Glen, J. C., & Walsh, V. (2019). The physiological effects of transcranial electrical stimulation do not apply to parameters commonly used in studies of cognitive neuromodulation. Neuropsychologia, 128, 332–339.
Pascual-Leone, A., Valls-Solé, J., Wassermann, E. M., & Hallett, M. (1994). Responses to rapid-rate transcranial magnetic stimulation of the human motor cortex. Brain, 117, 847–858.
Paulus, W. (2011). Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES - tDCS; tRNS, tACS) methods. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 21, 602–617.
Paulus, W., Antal, A., & Nitsche, M. A. (2013). Physiological basis and methodological aspects of transcranial electric stimulation (tDCS, tACS, and tRNS). In C. Miniussi, W. Paulus, & P. M. Rossini (Eds.), Transcranial brain stimulation (pp. 93–111). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Popescu, T., Krause, B., Terhune, D. B., Twose, O., Page, T., Humphreys, G., & Kadosh, R. C. (2016). Transcranial random noise stimulation mitigates increased difficulty in an arithmetic learning task. Neuropsychologia, 81, 255–264.
Price, A. R., & Hamilton, R. H. (2015). A re-evaluation of the cognitive effects from single-session transcranial direct current stimulation. Brain Stimulation, 8, 2014–2016.
Rahman, A., Reato, D., Arlotti, M., Gasca, F., Datta, A., Parra, L. C., & Bikson, M. (2013). Cellular effects of acute direct current stimulation: Somatic and synaptic terminal effects. Journal of Physiology, 591, 2563–2578.
Richmond, L. L., Wolk, D., Chein, J. M., & Olson, I. R. (2014). Transcranial direct current stimulation enhances verbal working memory training performance over time and near-transfer outcomes. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 26, 2443–2454.
Romanska, A., Rezlescu, C., Susilo, T., Duchaine, B., & Banissy, M. J. (2015). High-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation enhances perception of facial identity. Cerebral Cortex, 25, 4334–4340.
Ruf, S. P., Fallgatter, A. J., & Plewnia, C. (2017). Augmentation of working memory training by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Scientific Reports, 7, 876.
Segrave, R. A., Arnold, S., Hoy, K., & Fitzgerald, P. B. (2014). Concurrent cognitive control training augments the antidepressant efficacy of tDCS: A pilot study. Brain Stimulation, 7, 325–331.
Simons, D. J., Boot, W. R., Charness, N., Gathercole, S. E., Chabris, C. F., Hambrick, D. Z., & Stine-Morrow, E. A. (2016). Do “brain-training” programs work?. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17, 103–186.
Snowball, A., Tachtsidis, I., Popescu, T., Thompson, J., Delazer, M., Zamarian, L.,... & Kadosh, R. C. (2013). Long-term enhancement of brain function and cognition using cognitive training and brain stimulation. Current Biology, 23, 987–992.
Stagg, C. J., Bachtiar, V., & Johansen-Berg, H. (2011). The role of GABA in human motor learning. Current Biology, 21, 480–484.
Stagg, C. J., Lin, R. L., Mezue, M., Segerdahl, A., Kong, Y., Xie, J., & Tracey, I. (2013). Widespread modulation of cerebral perfusion induced during and after transcranial direct current stimulation applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 33, 11425–11431.
Summers, J. J., Kang, N., & Cauraugh, J. H. (2015). Does transcranial direct current stimulation enhance cognitive and motor functions in the ageing brain? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Research Reviews, 25, 42–54.
Talsma, L. J., Kroese, H. A., & Slagter, H. A. (2017). Boosting cognition: Effects of multiple-session transcranial direct current stimulation on working memory. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 29, 755–769.
Tavakoli, A. V., & Yun, K. (2017). Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) mechanisms and protocols. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 11, 1–10.
Terney, D., Chaieb, L., Moliadze, V., Antal, A., & Paulus, W. (2008). Increasing human brain excitability by transcranial high-frequency random noise stimulation. Journal of Neuroscience, 28, 14147–14155.
Tremblay, S., Lepage, J. F., Latulipe-Loiselle, A., Fregni, F., Pascual-Leone, A., & Théoret, H. (2014). The uncertain outcome of prefrontal tDCS. Brain Stimulation, 7, 773–783.
Wach, C., Krause, V., Moliadze, V., Paulus, W., Schnitzler, A., & Pollok, B. (2013). Effects of 10Hz and 20Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on motor functions and motor cortical excitability. Behavioural Brain Research, 241, 1–6.
Woods, A. J., Antal, A., Bikson, M., Boggio, P. S., Brunoni, A. R., Celnik, P.,... & Knotkova, H. (2016). A technical guide to tDCS, and related non-invasive brain stimulation tools. Clinical Neurophysiology, 127, 1031–1048.
Xu, Y., Qiu, Z., Zhu, J., Liu, J., Wu, J., Tao, J., & Chen, L. (2019). The modulation effect of non-invasive brain stimulation on cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials 11 medical and health sciences 1103 clinical sciences 11 Medica. BMC Neuroscience, 20, 2.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Byrne, E.M., Nord, C.L., Holmes, J. (2021). Cognitive Plasticity and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation. In: Strobach, T., Karbach, J. (eds) Cognitive Training. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39292-5_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39292-5_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-39291-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-39292-5
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)