A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Remediate Age-Related Cognitive Decline in Healthy Older Adults

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been proposed as a possible method for remediating age-associated cognitive decline in the older adult population. While tDCS has shown potential for improving cognitive functions in healthy older adults, stimulation outcomes on various cognitive domains have been mixed. Methods: A systematic search was performed in four databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and PsychInfo. Search results were then screened for eligibility based on inclusion/exclusion criteria to only include studies where tDCS was applied to improve cognition in healthy older adults 65 years and above. Eligible studies were reviewed and demographic characteristics, tDCS dose parameters, study procedures, and cognitive outcomes were extracted. Reported effect sizes for active compared to sham group in representative cognitive domain were converted to Hedges? g. Main Results: A total of thirteen studies involving healthy older adults (n=532, mean age=71.2+5.3 years) were included in the meta-analysis. The majority of included studies (94%) targeted the prefrontal cortex with stimulation intensity 1?2 mA using various electrode placements with anodes near the frontal region. Across all studies, we found Hedges? g values ranged from ?0.31 to 1.85 as reported group effect sizes of active stimulation compared to sham. Conclusion: While observed outcomes varied, overall findings indicated promising effects of tDCS to remediate cognitive aging and thus deserves further exploration. Future characterization of inter-individual variability in tDCS dose response and applications in larger cohorts are warranted to further validate benefits of tDCS for cognition in healthy older Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been proposed as a possible method for remediating age-associated cognitive decline in the older adult population. While tDCS has shown potential for improving cognitive functions in healthy older adults, stimulation outcomes on various cognitive domains have been mixed. Methods: A systematic search was performed in four databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and PsychInfo. Search results were then screened for eligibility based on inclusion/exclusion criteria to only include studies where tDCS was applied to improve cognition in healthy older adults 65 years and above. Eligible studies were reviewed and demographic characteristics, tDCS dose parameters, study procedures, and cognitive out-comes were extracted. Reported effect sizes for active compared to sham group in repre-sentative cognitive domain were converted to Hedges' g. Main Results: A total of thirteen studies involving healthy older adults (n=532, mean age=71.2+5.3 years) were included in the meta-analysis. The majority of included studies (94%) targeted the prefrontal cortex with stimulation intensity 1-2 mA using various electrode placements with anodes near the frontal region. Across all studies, we found Hedges' g values ranged from & minus;0.31 to 1.85 as reported group effect sizes of active stimulation compared to sham. Conclusion: While observed outcomes varied, overall findings indicated promising effects of tDCS to remediate cognitive aging and thus deserves further exploration. Future char-acterization of inter-individual variability in tDCS dose response and applications in larger cohorts are warranted to further validate benefits of tDCS for cognition in healthy older adults.

Automated summary

This study aimed to investigate the impact of tDCS on cognitive function in healthy older adults. The results showed that tDCS has the potential to improve cognitive aging, but the effects vary depending on individual differences and cognitive domains.