Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32280093›Full record

Trial reportJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2020

Impact of 3-Day Combined Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation-Visuospatial Training on Object-Location Memory in Healthy Older Adults and Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Angelica Vieira Cavalcanti de Sousa, Ulrike Grittner, Dan Rujescu, Nadine Külzow, Agnes Flöel

Open access · bronzeAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.

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  7. Neuromodulation and cognition in late-life depression.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
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  20. Non-invasive brain stimulation and neuroenhancement.Clinical neurophysiology practice · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Angelica Vieira Cavalcanti de SousaCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Neurocure Cluster of Excellence, Berlin, Germany.
Ulrike GrittnerCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Center for Stroke Research, Berlin, Germany.
Dan RujescuDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
Nadine KülzowCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Neurocure Cluster of Excellence, Berlin, Germany.
Agnes FlöelCharité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Neurocure Cluster of Excellence, Berlin, Germany.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin · DEMartin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg · DEUniversitätsmedizin Greifswald · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAssociative object-location memory (OLM) is known to decline even in normal aging, and this process is accelerated in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Given the lack of curative treatment for Alzheimer's disease, activating cognitive resources during its preclinical phase might prevent progression to dementia.

objectiveTo evaluate the effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (atDCS) combined with an associative episodic memory training on OLM in MCI patients and in healthy elderly (HE).

methodsIn a single-blind cross-over design, 16 MCI patients and 32 HE underwent a 3-day visuospatial OLM training paired with either 20 min or 30 s (sham) atDCS (1 mA, right temporoparietal cortex). Effects on immediate (training success) and long-term memory (1-month) were investigated by conducting Mixed Model analyses. In addition, the impact of combined intervention on within-session (online) and on between-session (offline) performance were explored.

resultsOLM training+atDCS enhanced training success only in MCI patients, but not HE (difference n.s.). Relative performance gain was similar in MCI patients compared to HE under atDCS. No beneficial effect was found after 1-month. Exploratory analyses suggested a positive impact on online, but a negative effect on offline performance in MCI patients. In both groups, exploratory post-hoc analyses indicated an association between initially low-performers and greater benefit from atDCS.

conclusionCognitive training in MCI may be enhanced by atDCS, but further delineation of the impact of current brain state, as well as temporal characteristics of multi-session atDCS-training application, may be needed to induce longer-lasting effects.

Indexed as

Transcranial Direct Current StimulationAgedAged, 80 and overAgingBrainCognitive DysfunctionCross-Over StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMemoryMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsSingle-Blind MethodTreatment OutcomeAssociation learningcognitiondementiaepisodic memorytranscranial direct current stimulation

Identifiers

PMID32280093
PMCPMC7306891
OpenAlexW3015854733

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.