Trial reportHuman brain mapping2024
A new perspective for evaluating the efficacy of tACS and tDCS in improving executive functions: A combined tES and fNIRS study.
Trial report in Human brain mapping, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of non-invasive brain stimulation combined with cognitive training on cognitive functions in older people with mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy combined with computerized cognitive training improves global cognition and functional independence post-stroke: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Enhancing response inhibition through a novel tES-fNIRS framework.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Impact of transcranial alternating current stimulation on psychological stress: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study.PloS one · 2025Trial
- A new perspective for evaluating the efficacy of tACS and tDCS in improving executive functions: A combined tES and fNIRS study.Human brain mapping · 2024Trial
- Functional characteristics in supraspinal networks and sensorimotor function following individualized dose-controlled HD-tDCS during foot core exercise in chronic ankle instability.Journal of sport and health science · 2026Article
- Improvement on Attention Networks Among Military Personnel: The Right IFG and tDCS Matter.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Holistic Management of Adult ADHD with a History of Addiction: Emphasis on Low-Addiction-Risk Psychopharmacotherapy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Applications of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) in Monitoring Treatment Response in Psychiatry: A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Exploring Effects of Mental Stress with Data Augmentation and Classification Using fNIRS.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Research progress on transcranial direct current stimulation for improving muscle strength: a narrative review.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- A bibliometric analysis of transcranial alternating current stimulation.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- Evaluation of tolerability and safety of transcranial electrical stimulation with gel particle electrodes in healthy subjects.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Comparative efficacy of tDCS and tACS in the context of enhancing executive function under acute stress: A randomized, sham-controlled study.International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHPArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundExecutive function enhancement is considered necessary for improving the quality of life of patients with neurological or psychiatric disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Alzheimer's disease. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) has been shown to have some beneficial effects on executive functioning, but the quantification of these improvements remains controversial. We aimed to explore the potential beneficial effects on executive functioning induced by the use of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)/transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the accompanying brain function variations in the resting state.
methodsWe recruited 229 healthy adults to participate in Experiments 1 (105 participants) and 2 (124 participants). The participants in each experiment were randomly divided into tACS, tDCS, and sham groups. The participants completed cognitive tasks to assess behavior related to three core components of executive functions. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to monitor the hemodynamic changes in crucial cortical regions in the resting state.
resultsInhibition and cognitive flexibility (excluding working memory) were significantly increased after tACS/tDCS, but there were no significant behavioral differences between the tACS and tDCS groups. fNIRS revealed that tDCS induced decreases in the functional connectivity (increased neural efficiency) of the relevant cortices.
conclusionsEnhancement of executive function was observed after tES, and the beneficial effects of tACS/tDCS may need to be precisely evaluated via brain imaging indicators at rest. tDCS revealed better neural benefits than tACS during the stimulation phase. These findings might provide new insights for selecting intervention methods in future studies and for evaluating the clinical efficacy of tES.
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What Socratic holds
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.