Abstract

Declines in several cognitive domains, most notably processing speed, occur in non-pathological aging. Given the exponential growth of the older adult population, declines in cognition serve as a significant public health issue that must be addressed. Promising studies have shown that cognitive training in older adults, particularly using the useful field of view (UFOV) paradigm, can improve cognition with moderate to large effect sizes. Additionally, meta-analyses have found that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive form of brain stimulation, can improve cognition in attention/processing speed and working memory. However, only a handful of studies have looked at concomitant tDCS and cognitive training, usually with short interventions and small sample sizes. The current study assessed the effect of a tDCS (active versus sham) and a 3-month cognitive training intervention on task-based functional connectivity during completion of the UFOV task in a large older adult sample (N = 153). We found significant increased functional connectivity between the left and right pars triangularis (the ROIs closest to the electrodes) following active, but not sham tDCS. Additionally, we see trending behavioral improvements associated with these functional connectivity changes in the active tDCS group, but not sham. Collectively, these findings suggest that tDCS and cognitive training can be an effective modulator of task-based functional connectivity above and beyond a cognitive training intervention alone.

中文翻译：

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经颅直流电刺激 (tDCS) 和认知训练干预对基于任务的功能连接的影响

摘要

非病理性衰老会导致多个认知领域的下降，最明显的是处理速度的下降。鉴于老年人口呈指数级增长，认知能力下降成为必须解决的重大公共卫生问题。有前途的研究表明，老年人的认知训练，特别是使用有用视野（UFOV）范式，可以改善认知，并具有中等至较大的效果。此外，荟萃分析发现，经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）是一种非侵入性的脑刺激形式，可以改善注意力/处理速度和工作记忆方面的认知。然而，只有少数研究关注了伴随的 tDCS 和认知训练，通常干预时间短且样本量小。当前的研究评估了大型老年人样本（ N = 153 ）在完成 UFOV 任务期间，tDCS（主动与假）和 3 个月的认知训练干预对基于任务的功能连接的影响。我们发现，在主动 tDCS 后，左右三角部（最接近电极的 ROI）之间的功能连接显着增加，但假 tDCS 则没有。此外，我们在活动 tDCS 组中看到与这些功能连接变化相关的趋势行为改善，但假手术组则不然。总的来说，这些发现表明，经颅直流电刺激和认知训练可以成为基于任务的功能连接的有效调节器，超越单独的认知训练干预。