P302 Right parietal tDCS and object-location memory

Abstract

Background Memory enhancement is one of the most challenging issues in neurorehabilitation. Memory functions are affected by different neurological conditions as well as by normal aging. Recent data suggest that it may be possible to improve performance on some of the memory tests by physiological modulation of the activity within a neural loop which plays crucial role in formation and maintenance of the associative memory, the main parts of which are the hippocampus and the lateral parietal cortex. Aim To examine whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over right parietal cortex would have an effect on associative memory between objects and locations. Methods Ten healthy right-handed participants (5 male, age 20–28) were enrolled in a cross-over placebo-controlled study. We applied 20-min anodal or sham tDCS of 1.5 mA over the P4 site of 10–20 EEG system, and participants completed a object-location test immediately after, as well as 24 h, and 7 days after stimulation. Object-location test consisted of recognition and recall task. Results For recall task the repeated measures ANOVA showed significant main effect of stimulation ( F ( 1 , 9 ) = 6.32 , p . 05 , η 2 = . 41 ), main effect of time ( F ( 2 , 18 ) = 3.48 , p = . 05 , η 2 = . 28 ), as well as interaction effect ( F ( 2 , 18 ) = 4.57 , p . 05 , η 2 = . 34 ). On the other hand no significant effects were observed on recognition task. Conclusions The results indicate that single tDCS session over parietal cortex has a potential to improve delayed recall of object-location associations.