Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42313252›Full record

ReviewGeroScience2026

Targeting brain rhythms to support cognition in aging: a systematic review and meta-analysis of tACS across healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease.

Brunno Freitas da Costa, Karin Reuwsaat, Nwabunwanne Emele, Cíntia Monteiro Carvalho, Egas Caparelli-Dáquer, Rogério Panizzutti

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in GeroScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

6 authors.

Brunno Freitas da CostaInstituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. fc_brunno@hotmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7483-7319
Karin ReuwsaatInstituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Nwabunwanne EmeleInstituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Cíntia Monteiro CarvalhoInstituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Egas Caparelli-DáquerUniversidade Do Estado Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Rogério PanizzuttiInstituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. rogerio.panizzutti@ipub.ufrj.br.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cognitive decline is a major challenge in aging. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) modulates neural oscillations, potentially aiding cognition. Due to variation in late-life tACS studies, we conducted the first meta-analysis in older adults (≥ 60 years) to estimate pooled cognitive effects and determine if protocol parameters explain outcome variability. We searched Medline/PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov (up to September 17, 2025) for studies examining tACS effects on cognition in adults age ≥ 60 years, including healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Risk of bias was assessed using RoB 2 and ROBINS-I. Random-effects meta-analyses using Hedges' g were performed, with sensitivity analyses to handle outliers and heterogeneity. Twenty-two studies (n = 826 participants) were included. The primary meta-analysis revealed a significant moderate effect of tACS on cognition (g = 0.70, 95% CI 0.38-1.02), though with high heterogeneity (I

Indexed as

AgingAlzheimer diseaseCognitionCognitive dysfunctionMemoryTranscranial electrical stimulation

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.