The effect of oppositional parietal transcranial direct current stimulation on lateralized brain functions
File(s)
Accepted version
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Cognitive functions such as numerical processing and spatial attention show varying degrees of lateralization. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can be used to investigate how modulating cortical excitability affects performance of these tasks. This study investigated the effect of bi-parietal tDCS on numerical processing, spatial and sustained attention. It was hypothesized that tDCS would have distinct effects on these tasks because of varying lateralization (numerical processing left, spatial attention right) and that these effects are partly mediated by modulation of sustained attention. A single-blinded, crossover, sham-controlled study was performed. Eighteen healthy right-handed participants performed cognitive tasks during three sessions of oppositional parietal tDCS stimulation: sham; right anodal with left cathodal (RA/LC); and right cathodal with left anodal (RC/LA). Participants performed a number comparison task, a modified Posner task, a choice reaction task (CRT) and the rapid visual processing task (RVP). RA/LC tDCS impaired number comparison performance compared with sham, with slower responses to numerically close numbers pairs. RA/LC and RC/LA tDCS had distinct effects on CRT performance, specifically affecting vigilance level during the final block of the task. No effect of stimulation on the Posner task or RVP was found. It was demonstrated that oppositional parietal tDCS affected both numerical performance and vigilance level in a polarity-dependent manner. The effect of tDCS on numerical processing may partly be due to attentional effects. The behavioural effects of tDCS were specifically observed under high task demands, demonstrating the consequences of an interaction between stimulation type and cognitive load.
Date Issued
2015-11-11
Date Acceptance
2015-09-23
Citation
European Journal of Neuroscience, 2015, 42 (11), pp.2904-2914
ISSN
1460-9568
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
2904
End Page
2914
Journal / Book Title
European Journal of Neuroscience
Volume
42
Issue
11
Copyright Statement
© 2015 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience published by Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
The Academy of Medical Sciences
Imperial College Healthcare Charity
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Imperial College Trust
National Institute for Health Research
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust- BRC Funding
Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Trust
Grant Number
G0701951
N/A
7006/R21U
MR/J004685/1
N/A
NIRH-RP-011-048
EP/K503381/1
RDA03
097816/Z/11/B
103429/Z/13/Z
Subjects
Non-invasive brain stimulation
numerical processing
parietal cortex
spatial attention
sustained attention
Neurology & Neurosurgery
1109 Neurosciences
1702 Cognitive Science
1701 Psychology
Publication Status
Published