• Marcus Meinzer, Daria Antonenko, Robert Lindenberg, Stefan Hetzer, Lena Ulm, Keren Avirame, Tobias Flaisch, and Agnes Flöel.
• Department of Neurology, Center for Stroke Research Berlin, and Cluster of Excellence NeuroCure, Charite Universitätsmedizin, Berlin 10117, Germany. marcus.meinzer@charite.de
• J. Neurosci. 2012 Feb 1; 32 (5): 1859-66.

AbstractExcitatory anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (atDCS) can improve human cognitive functions, but neural underpinnings of its mode of action remain elusive. In a cross-over placebo ("sham") controlled study we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate neurofunctional correlates of improved language functions induced by atDCS over a core language area, the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Intrascanner transcranial direct current stimulation-induced changes in overt semantic word generation assessed behavioral modulation; task-related and task-independent (resting-state) fMRI characterized language network changes. Improved word-retrieval during atDCS was paralleled by selectively reduced task-related activation in the left ventral IFG, an area specifically implicated in semantic retrieval processes. Under atDCS, resting-state fMRI revealed increased connectivity of the left IFG and additional major hubs overlapping with the language network. In conclusion, atDCS modulates endogenous low-frequency oscillations in a distributed set of functionally connected brain areas, possibly inducing more efficient processing in critical task-relevant areas and improved behavioral performance.

18 keywords...

hide…