The successful acquisition of arithmetic skills is an essential step in the development of mathematical competencies and has been associated with neural activity in the left posterior parietal cortex (PPC). It is unclear, however, whether this brain region plays a causal role in arithmetic skill acquisition and whether arithmetic learning can be modulated by means of non-invasive brain stimulat...

Evidence from neuroimaging and cerebellar lesion studies indicate that the cerebellum plays a role in language articulation and verbal fluency. Previous studies have established that distinct areas of the cerebellum are differentially active during each of these tasks, with articulation engaging the anterior cerebellum and verbal fluency activating areas of the right posterolateral cerebellum. ...

Interpersonal trust is an essential ingredient of many social relationships. Previous research has suggested that the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC) may be a critical component in mediating the degree to which people trust others. Here we assessed the role of the mPFC in modulating interpersonal trust by means of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Participants (n = 60) were random...

When we experience an error in a motor task, we adapt our next movement to partially compensate. The process of adaptation can be modeled as u(n+1) = αu(n) + η(n)e(n) where u(n) is the motor command on trial n, α is a decay factor, e(n) is error, and η(n) represents the subjects’ sensitivity to the experienced error. Here, we explore the rules that govern the value of η(n) as well as the brain-...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive powerful method to modulate brain activity. It can enhance motor learning and working memory in healthy subjects. To investigate the effects of anodal tDCS (1 mA, 20 min) of the dominant and non-dominant primary motor cortex (M1) on hand motor performance in healthy right-handed volunteers, healthy subjects underwent one session o...

Abstract Transcranial anodal stimulation (tDCS) over primary motor cortex (M1) improves dexterous manipulation in healthy older adults. However, the beneficial effects of anodal tDCS in combination with motor practice on natural and clinically relevant functional manual tasks, and the associated changes in the digit contact forces are not known. To this end, we studied the effects of 20 min of ...

In intertemporal choice (ITC), people discount future rewards in proportion to the time delay until reward receipt. Despite recent non-invasive brain stimulation studies suggesting a general causal link between dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) activity and ITC impulsivity, results regarding the functional specificity of dlPFC are mixed. We used high-definition transcranial direct current ...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a low-intensity, noninvasive form of brain stimulation delivered by a small battery-powered portable machine. Conventionally, 2 disposable electrodes are positioned on the head, and a small current is passed between these electrodes to stimulate the brain “transcranially.” A typical session uses a low-intensity current of 1 to 2 mA (ECT by compa...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is known as the most effective technique for stimulating deeper brain areas. The capability of tDCS, however, strongly depends on the number of electrodes, their positions, and the amount of injected currents. This paper intends to apply the simulated annealing algorithm for determining optimal stimulation parameters in a multiple electrode scheme....

BACKGROUND Cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation method for suppressing regional cortical excitability. We examine the safety and antiepileptic efficacy of cathodal tDCS in children with refractory focal epilepsy. Although a prior cathodal tDCS trial in adults with epilepsy revealed EEG improvement, neither the antiepileptic potential nor the...