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Transcranial direct current stimulation in combination with cognitive training in individuals with mild cognitive impairment: a controlled 3-parallel-arm study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2022

Stefano Pallanti ,
Eleonora Grassi Open the ORCID record for Eleonora Grassi [Opens in a new window] ,
Helena Knotkova  and
Giulia Galli
Stefano Pallanti*
Affiliation:
Department of Family and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA Institute of Neuroscience, Florence, Italy
Eleonora Grassi
Affiliation:
Institute of Neuroscience, Florence, Italy
Helena Knotkova
Affiliation:
Department of Family and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care, New York, NY, USA
Giulia Galli
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Kingston University, Kingston, UK
*
*Author for correspondence: Stefano Pallanti, MD, PhD Email: stefanopallanti@yahoo.it
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Abstract

Objective

Several studies showed that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) enhances cognition in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), however, whether tDCS leads to additional gains when combined with cognitive training remains unclear. This study aims to compare the effects of a concurrent tDCS-cognitive training intervention with either tDCS or cognitive training alone on a group of patients with MCI.

Methods

The study was a 3-parallel-arm study. The intervention consisted of 20 daily sessions of 20 minutes each. Patients (n = 62) received anodal tDCS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cognitive training on 5 cognitive domains (orientation, attention, memory, language, and executive functions), or both. To examine intervention gains, we examined global cognitive functioning, verbal short-term memory, visuospatial memory, and verbal fluency pre- and post-intervention.

Results

All outcome measures improved after the intervention in the 3 groups. The improvement in global cognitive functioning and verbal fluency was significantly larger in patients who received the combined intervention. Instead, the intervention gain in verbal short-term memory and visuospatial memory was similar across the 3 groups.

Discussion

tDCS, regardless of the practicalities, could be an efficacious treatment in combination with cognitive training given the increased effectiveness of the combined treatment.

Conclusions

Future studies will need to consider individual differences at baseline, including genetic factors and anatomical differences that impact the electric field generated by tDCS and should also consider the feasibility of at-home treatments consisting of the application of tDCS with cognitive training.

Keywords

Noninvasive brain stimulationcognitive enhancementneuromodulationmild cognitive impairmenttDCS
Type
Original Research
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , August 2023 , pp. 489 - 494
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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