Influence of tDCS over right inferior frontal gyrus and pre-supplementary motor area on perceptual decision-making and response inhibition: A healthy ageing perspective

A wide body of literature suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) administered over the prefrontal cortex can improve executive function - including decision-making and inhibitory control - in healthy young adults. However, the effects of tDCS in older adults are largely unknown. Here, us-ing a double-blind, sham-controlled approach, changes in a combined perceptual decision-making and inhibitory control task were assessed before and after the application of tDCS (1 mA, 20 minute) target-ing the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) or pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA) in 42 young (18-34 years) and 41 older (60-80 years) healthy adults. Compared to sham stimulation, anodal tDCS over the preSMA improved decision-making speed for both age groups. Furthermore, the inhibitory control per-formance of older and younger adults was improved by preSMA and rIFG stimulation, respectively. This study provides evidence that tDCS can improve both perceptual decision-making and inhibitory control in healthy older adults, with the causal role of the preSMA and rIFG regions in cognitive control appearing to vary as a function of healthy ageing. (c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Research suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation can improve executive function in healthy older adults, including decision-making speed and inhibitory control. Anodal tDCS appears to enhance perceptual decision-making and inhibitory control performance in both younger and older adults.