ReviewNeuropsychiatric disease and treatment2021
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Remediate Age-Related Cognitive Decline in Healthy Older Adults.
Review in Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- A meta-analysis of the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with cognitive training on working memory in healthy older adults.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation with cognitive training on executive functions in healthy older adults: a secondary analysis from the ACT trial.GeroScience · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Inter-individual differences in baseline dynamic functional connectivity are linked to cognitive aftereffects of tDCS.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Proximal improvement and higher-order resting state network change after multidomain cognitive training intervention in healthy older adults.GeroScience · 2022Trial
- Primary outcome from the augmenting cognitive training in older adults study (ACT): A tDCS and cognitive training randomized clinical trial.Brain stimulationTrial
- Article
- Dual-site theta stimulation modulates connectivity, but not sequence memory in older adults.Brain communications · 2026Article
- The inconsistent effects of tDCS in rehabilitation and cognitive enhancement: sources of variability and paths to personalization.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
- Recent Advancements of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Machine Learning: Methods, Challenges, and Opportunities.Transactions on artificial intelligence · 2026Article
- Efficacy of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation in Primary Progressive Aphasia Treatment: A Review.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Personalized high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation improves cognition following carbon monoxide poisoning induced amnesia: A case report.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2024Article
- Native learning ability and not age determines the effects of brain stimulation.NPJ science of learning · 2024Article
- Machine learning-optimized non-invasive brain stimulation and treatment response classification for major depression.Bioelectronic medicine · 2024Article
- Enhanced Cognition and Modulation of Brain Connectivity in Mild Neurocognitive Disorder: The Promise of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- The impact of a tDCS and cognitive training intervention on task-based functional connectivity.GeroScience · 2024Article
- Cognitive reserve predicts episodic memory enhancement induced by transcranial direct current stimulation in healthy older adults.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The influence of sleep disorders on perioperative neurocognitive disorders among the elderly: A narrative review.Ibrain · 2024Review
- Alcohol Use Disorder and Dementia: A Review.Alcohol research : current reviews · 2024Review
- Efficacy of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Cognition, Anxiety, and Mobility in Community-Dwelling Older Individuals: A Controlled Clinical Trial.Brain sciences · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been proposed as a possible method for remediating age-associated cognitive decline in the older adult population. While tDCS has shown potential for improving cognitive functions in healthy older adults, stimulation outcomes on various cognitive domains have been mixed.
methodsA systematic search was performed in four databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and PsychInfo. Search results were then screened for eligibility based on inclusion/exclusion criteria to only include studies where tDCS was applied to improve cognition in healthy older adults 65 years and above. Eligible studies were reviewed and demographic characteristics, tDCS dose parameters, study procedures, and cognitive outcomes were extracted. Reported effect sizes for active compared to sham group in representative cognitive domain were converted to Hedges' g. MAIN
resultsA total of thirteen studies involving healthy older adults (n=532, mean age=71.2+5.3 years) were included in the meta-analysis. The majority of included studies (94%) targeted the prefrontal cortex with stimulation intensity 1-2 mA using various electrode placements with anodes near the frontal region. Across all studies, we found Hedges' g values ranged from -0.31 to 1.85 as reported group effect sizes of active stimulation compared to sham.
conclusionWhile observed outcomes varied, overall findings indicated promising effects of tDCS to remediate cognitive aging and thus deserves further exploration. Future characterization of inter-individual variability in tDCS dose response and applications in larger cohorts are warranted to further validate benefits of tDCS for cognition in healthy older adults.
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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 Socratic graph.