The effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Cognitive and Executive Function in Children with Language Impairment

Abstract

Background: Existence of a language disorder can directly affect various aspects of social life of children. This study aimed to examining effectiveness of tDCS on cognitive and executive functions in children with language impairment. Materials and Methods: The present study is quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. Twenty-four children with language impairment were selected from 1st to 3rd grade elementary school students in Gorgan. In pre-test, participants performed a simple selective and divided attention test and an overarm throwing test including 10 throws. After pre-test, participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (each 12 participants). Participants in experimental group underwent transcranial direct current stimulation intervention for one-day interval of three sessions. Anodal electrode was placed on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the cathodal electrode on the participant’s right shoulder. The duration of stimulation in each session was 20 minutes, and the intensity of stimulation was 1.5 mA. Control group performed no particular intervention. Following intervention, post-test was performed. Results:The mean age of participants was 7.78 years; the mean weight was 34.33 kg and the mean height was 131.29 cm. The results showed in terms of simple selective (p=0.001) and divided (p=0.011) attention and overarm throwing (p=0.001), there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups, and the function of the experimental group was better than the control group due to different averages. Conclusions:In general, it can be stated that the use of tDCS intervention in three sessions of 20 minutes with an intensity of 1.5 mA can improve cognitive and executive functions in children with language disorders.