Microstructural and functional plasticity following repeated brain stimulation during cognitive training in older adults
Abstract The combination of repeated behavioral training with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) holds promise to exert beneficial effects on brain function beyond the trained task. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. We performed a monocenter, single-blind randomiz...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38910-x |
| _version_ | 1827933311254659072 |
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| author | Daria Antonenko Anna Elisabeth Fromm Friederike Thams Ulrike Grittner Marcus Meinzer Agnes Flöel |
| author_facet | Daria Antonenko Anna Elisabeth Fromm Friederike Thams Ulrike Grittner Marcus Meinzer Agnes Flöel |
| author_sort | Daria Antonenko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The combination of repeated behavioral training with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) holds promise to exert beneficial effects on brain function beyond the trained task. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. We performed a monocenter, single-blind randomized, placebo-controlled trial comparing cognitive training to concurrent anodal tDCS (target intervention) with cognitive training to concurrent sham tDCS (control intervention), registered at ClinicalTrial.gov (Identifier NCT03838211). The primary outcome (performance in trained task) and secondary behavioral outcomes (performance on transfer tasks) were reported elsewhere. Here, underlying mechanisms were addressed by pre-specified analyses of multimodal magnetic resonance imaging before and after a three-week executive function training with prefrontal anodal tDCS in 48 older adults. Results demonstrate that training combined with active tDCS modulated prefrontal white matter microstructure which predicted individual transfer task performance gain. Training-plus-tDCS also resulted in microstructural grey matter alterations at the stimulation site, and increased prefrontal functional connectivity. We provide insight into the mechanisms underlying neuromodulatory interventions, suggesting tDCS-induced changes in fiber organization and myelin formation, glia-related and synaptic processes in the target region, and synchronization within targeted functional networks. These findings advance the mechanistic understanding of neural tDCS effects, thereby contributing to more targeted neural network modulation in future experimental and translation tDCS applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:23:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c00d770d1ca456188327b675c8d3f30 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:23:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c00d770d1ca456188327b675c8d3f302023-06-04T11:32:35ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-06-0114111310.1038/s41467-023-38910-xMicrostructural and functional plasticity following repeated brain stimulation during cognitive training in older adultsDaria Antonenko0Anna Elisabeth Fromm1Friederike Thams2Ulrike Grittner3Marcus Meinzer4Agnes Flöel5Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin GreifswaldDepartment of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin GreifswaldDepartment of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin GreifswaldBerlin Institute of Health (BIH)Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin GreifswaldDepartment of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin GreifswaldAbstract The combination of repeated behavioral training with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) holds promise to exert beneficial effects on brain function beyond the trained task. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. We performed a monocenter, single-blind randomized, placebo-controlled trial comparing cognitive training to concurrent anodal tDCS (target intervention) with cognitive training to concurrent sham tDCS (control intervention), registered at ClinicalTrial.gov (Identifier NCT03838211). The primary outcome (performance in trained task) and secondary behavioral outcomes (performance on transfer tasks) were reported elsewhere. Here, underlying mechanisms were addressed by pre-specified analyses of multimodal magnetic resonance imaging before and after a three-week executive function training with prefrontal anodal tDCS in 48 older adults. Results demonstrate that training combined with active tDCS modulated prefrontal white matter microstructure which predicted individual transfer task performance gain. Training-plus-tDCS also resulted in microstructural grey matter alterations at the stimulation site, and increased prefrontal functional connectivity. We provide insight into the mechanisms underlying neuromodulatory interventions, suggesting tDCS-induced changes in fiber organization and myelin formation, glia-related and synaptic processes in the target region, and synchronization within targeted functional networks. These findings advance the mechanistic understanding of neural tDCS effects, thereby contributing to more targeted neural network modulation in future experimental and translation tDCS applications.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38910-x |
| spellingShingle | Daria Antonenko Anna Elisabeth Fromm Friederike Thams Ulrike Grittner Marcus Meinzer Agnes Flöel Microstructural and functional plasticity following repeated brain stimulation during cognitive training in older adults Nature Communications |
| title | Microstructural and functional plasticity following repeated brain stimulation during cognitive training in older adults |
| title_full | Microstructural and functional plasticity following repeated brain stimulation during cognitive training in older adults |
| title_fullStr | Microstructural and functional plasticity following repeated brain stimulation during cognitive training in older adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microstructural and functional plasticity following repeated brain stimulation during cognitive training in older adults |
| title_short | Microstructural and functional plasticity following repeated brain stimulation during cognitive training in older adults |
| title_sort | microstructural and functional plasticity following repeated brain stimulation during cognitive training in older adults |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38910-x |
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