Effects of combining retrieval practice and tDCS over long-term memory: A randomized controlled trial

Beatriz Araújo Cavendish; Marcos Felipe Rodrigues de Lima; Lara Perícoli; Luciano Grüdtner Buratto

doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105807

Effects of combining retrieval practice and tDCS over long-term memory: A randomized controlled trial

Brain Cogn. 2022 Feb:156:105807. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105807. Epub 2021 Dec 20.

Authors

Beatriz Araújo Cavendish¹, Marcos Felipe Rodrigues de Lima², Lara Perícoli², Luciano Grüdtner Buratto²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Basic Psychological Processes, Institute of Psychology, University of Brasília, Brasília 70.910-900, Brazil. Electronic address: beatriz.cavendish@gmail.com.
² Department of Basic Psychological Processes, Institute of Psychology, University of Brasília, Brasília 70.910-900, Brazil.

PMID: 34949566
DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105807

Abstract

The ability to retain new information is important in daily life. In particular, two techniques have shown promise for improving long-term retention: retrieval practice (RP), which consists of actively retrieving information from long-term memory to make it more accessible in the future; and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which consists of non-invasive brain stimulation that modulates cognitive processes by increasing and decreasing neuronal excitability. Previous studies have implicated the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-dlPFC) in memory encoding and memory organization. We examined whether RP associated with a single 20-min tDCS session over the l-dlPFC could improve long-term memory retention. Participants (N = 119) repeatedly studied a list of related words either via RP or via restudy, while undergoing either anodal or sham stimulation. Participants returned 2 days later for a free-recall test. Results showed that the RP group outperformed the restudy group in all measures, regardless of stimulation type. Also, recall organization was higher in the RP group than in the restudy group. The data support previous findings and indicate that RP may enhance performance by improving the organization of the to-be-remembered list items.

Keywords: Long-term memory; Memory organization; Retrieval practice; dlPFC; tDCS.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
Humans
Memory, Long-Term / physiology
Mental Recall / physiology
Prefrontal Cortex / physiology
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation* / methods