Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39644890›Full record

Trial reportCurrent biology : CB2025

Prefrontal tDCS fails to modulate memory retrieval in younger and older adults.

Tesnim Arar, Gabriella V Hirsch, Taylor A Chamberlain, Miranda Malone, Cheyenne D Wakeland-Hart, Martynas Snarskis, Diane S Lauderdale, L Philip Schumm, David A Gallo

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Current biology : CB, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03723850 (Effect of Noninvasive Electrical Brain Stimulation on Memory Performance at Different Times of Day in Younger and Older Adults), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT03723850 nacompletednot on this map

Effect of Noninvasive Electrical Brain Stimulation on Memory Performance at Different Times of Day in Younger and Older Adults

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of ChicagoRan2019 to 2022Enrolled271ConditionsEffect of tDCS on Memory in Older and Younger AdultsArmsActive tDCS, Sham tDCS
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

9 authors.

Tesnim ArarDepartment of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Electronic address: tesnimarar@uchicago.edu.
Gabriella V HirschDepartment of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Taylor A ChamberlainDepartment of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Miranda MaloneDepartment of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Cheyenne D Wakeland-HartDepartment of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Martynas SnarskisSchool of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
Diane S LauderdaleDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
L Philip SchummDepartment of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
David A GalloDepartment of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

Funding

BRAIN STIMULATION AND TIME OF DAY IN COGNITIVE AGINGR21AG060444 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · PI GALLO, DAVID · 2018 to 2019
$446k
NIA NIH HHS R21 AG060444
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Previous research shows that a single session of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) can improve the accuracy of episodic memory retrieval, but stimulation effects are not always found and may be moderated by time of day. Here, we report the results from a rigorous clinical trial (NCT03723850) designed to replicate these tDCS findings in younger adults and extend them to cognitively normal older adults. We conducted the largest double-blind, between-subjects tDCS study on memory retrieval in younger and older adults to date. 150 younger adults and 91 older adults received anodal tDCS or sham stimulation to the left dlPFC prior to episodic memory retrieval and working memory tasks. We also manipulated when tDCS was administered (time of day: morning vs. afternoon), task difficulty (easy vs. hard), and stimulus format (verbal vs. visual/pictorial) to test the extent that these variables are important for identifying tDCS effects. Contrary to our preregistered predictions, we did not find any effect of tDCS or time of day on younger or older adults' episodic or working memory performance. This outcome was not due to insensitivity of our cognitive tasks, given that we found expected effects of task difficulty and age-related effects on our memory measures. Based on these and prior tDCS results, we conclude that a single dose of tDCS using the typical and often recommended parameters does not reliably improve episodic memory retrieval in either age group.

Indexed as

Memory, EpisodicMemory, Short-TermMental RecallTranscranial Direct Current StimulationAdultAgedAge FactorsDorsolateral Prefrontal CortexDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrefrontal CortexYoung Adultcircadian rhythmsdorsolateral prefrontal cortexepisodic memorytranscranial direct current stimulationworking memory

Identifiers

PMID39644890
PMCPMC11759060

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.