Philipp A Schroeder1, Tobias Schwippel2, Ines Wolz3, Jennifer Svaldi3. 1. Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: philipp.schroeder@uni-tuebingen.de. 2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Neurophysiology & Interventional Neuropsychiatry, University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. 3. Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Inhibitory control refers to a central cognitive capacity involved in the interruption and correction of actions. Dysfunctions in these cognitive control processes have been identified as major maintaining mechanisms in a range of mental disorders such as ADHD, binge eating disorder, obesity, and addiction. Improving inhibitory control by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could ameliorate symptoms in a broad range of mental disorders. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this pre-registered meta-analysis was to investigate whether inhibitory control can be improved by tDCS in healthy and clinical samples. Additionally, several moderator variables were investigated. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed/MEDLINE database, Web of Science, and Scopus. To achieve a homogenous sample, only studies that assessed inhibitory control in the go-/no-go (GNG) or stop-signal task (SST) were included, yielding a total of 75 effect sizes from 45 studies. RESULTS: Results of the meta-analysis indicate a small but significant overall effect of tDCS on inhibitory control (g = 0.21) which was moderated by target and return electrode placement as well as by the task. The small effect size was further reduced after correction for publication bias. CONCLUSION: Based on the studies included, our meta-analytic approach substantiates previously observed differences between brain regions, i.e., involvement of the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) vs. the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) in inhibitory control. Results indicate a small moderating effect of tDCS on inhibitory control in single-session studies and highlight the relevance of technical and behavioral parameters.
BACKGROUND: Inhibitory control refers to a central cognitive capacity involved in the interruption and correction of actions. Dysfunctions in these cognitive control processes have been identified as major maintaining mechanisms in a range of mental disorders such as ADHD, binge eating disorder, obesity, and addiction. Improving inhibitory control by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could ameliorate symptoms in a broad range of mental disorders. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this pre-registered meta-analysis was to investigate whether inhibitory control can be improved by tDCS in healthy and clinical samples. Additionally, several moderator variables were investigated. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed/MEDLINE database, Web of Science, and Scopus. To achieve a homogenous sample, only studies that assessed inhibitory control in the go-/no-go (GNG) or stop-signal task (SST) were included, yielding a total of 75 effect sizes from 45 studies. RESULTS: Results of the meta-analysis indicate a small but significant overall effect of tDCS on inhibitory control (g = 0.21) which was moderated by target and return electrode placement as well as by the task. The small effect size was further reduced after correction for publication bias. CONCLUSION: Based on the studies included, our meta-analytic approach substantiates previously observed differences between brain regions, i.e., involvement of the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) vs. the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) in inhibitory control. Results indicate a small moderating effect of tDCS on inhibitory control in single-session studies and highlight the relevance of technical and behavioral parameters.
Authors: Barbara D'Aiello; Andrea Battisti; Giulia Lazzaro; Pierpaolo Pani; Pietro De Rossi; Silvia Di Vara; Italo Pretelli; Floriana Costanzo; Stefano Vicari; Deny Menghini Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-04-11 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Joshua B Ewen; Nicolaas A Puts; Stewart H Mostofsky; Paul S Horn; Donald L Gilbert Journal: Cereb Cortex Date: 2021-10-22 Impact factor: 4.861