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Effects of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (atDCS) on Sentence Comprehension

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2019

Jarrad A. G. Lum Open the ORCID record for Jarrad A. G. Lum [Opens in a new window] ,
Gillian M. Clark ,
Caitlyn M. Rogers ,
James D. Skalkos ,
Ian Fuelscher ,
Christian Hyde  and
Peter G. Enticott
Jarrad A. G. Lum*
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University
Gillian M. Clark
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University
Caitlyn M. Rogers
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University
James D. Skalkos
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University
Ian Fuelscher
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University
Christian Hyde
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University
Peter G. Enticott
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Jarrad A. G. Lum, Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. E-mail: jarrad.lum@deakin.edu.au
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Abstract

Objectives: This study examined the effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) on sentence and word comprehension in healthy adults. Methods: Healthy adult participants, aged between 19 and 30 years, received either a-tDCS over the left inferior frontal gyrus (n=18) or sham stimulation (n=18). Participants completed sentence comprehension and word comprehension tasks before and during stimulation. Accuracy and reaction times (RTs) were recorded as participants completed both tasks. Results: a-tDCS was found to significantly decrease RT on the sentence comprehension task compared to baseline. There was no change in RT following sham stimulation. a-tDCS was not found to have a significant effect on accuracy. Also, a-tDCS did not affect accuracy or RTs on the word comprehension task. Conclusions: The study provides evidence that non-invasive anodal electrical stimulation can modulate sentence comprehension in healthy adults, at least compared to their baseline performance. (JINS, 2019, 25, 331–335)

Keywords

Non-invasive brain stimulationTranscranial direct current Stimulationa-tDCSSentence comprehensionLeft inferior frontal gyrusWord comprehension
Type
Brief Communication
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , March 2019 , pp. 331 - 335
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2019 

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