The effects of transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) of the brain on word learning were addressed in a large-scale study in 288 people. The study included a comprehensive assessment of the effects of TES in various conditions (implicit/explicit learning strategy, with/without articulation, anodic/cathodic stimulation, left/right hemisphere, and stimulation area (Broca/Wernicke and their homologs in the right hemisphere)). After 15 minutes of real or placebo stimulation, subjects were presented with eight new words with semantic binding, each 10 times. The latency of correct responses in the test task assessing the semantic correlation of the word and image was used as an indicator of the effectiveness of acquiring new words. The results showed a general non-specific acceleration of responses when real stimulation was used (as compared to placebo), independently of the conditions tested.
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Translated from Zhurnal Vysshei Nervnoi Deyatel’nosti imeni I. P. Pavlova, Vol. 72, No. 2, pp. 227–232, March–April, 2022.
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Filippova, M.G., Perikova, E.I., Blagovechtchenski, E.D. et al. The Nonspecific Positive Actions of Direct Current Transcranial Electrical Stimulation on Novel Word Acquisition. Neurosci Behav Physi 52, 1254–1257 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01354-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01354-3