Utjecaj neinvazivne neurostimulacije na neke aspekte izvršnih funkcija

master's thesis

• Title (english): Effects of Non-invasive Neurostimulation on Some Aspects of Executive Functions
• Author: Marija Magdalena Šamal
• Mentor: Ivana Hromatko (mentor)
• Committee member: Blaž Rebernjak (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Francesca Dumančić (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of Psychology); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2022-09-26, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Psychology; Biological Psychology

Abstract

Transkranijalna stimulacija jednosmjernom strujom metoda je neinvazivne neuromodulacije kojom se nastoji poboljšati niz motornih i kognitivnih funkcija. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi može li jedna sesija anodalne transkranijalne stimulacije lijevog dorzolateralnog prefrontalnog korteksa jednosmjernom strujom od 1.5 mA poboljšati izvršne funkcije, specifično radno pamćenje i inhibiciju. Ovo je postignuto zavisnim mjerenjem utjecaja anodalne i sham stimulacije na poboljšanje izvedbe u backward digit span, n-back i Stroopovom zadatku na uzorku od 21 ispitanika mlađe odrasle dobi. Primijenjena je i kontrolna mjera perceptivne brzine kako bi se utvrdila specifičnost neuromodulacijskih efekata. Dobivena je značajna interakcija stimulacijskog uvjeta i točke mjerenja na izvedbu backward digit span zadatka, pri čemu su ispitanici nakon anodalne stimulacije demonstrirali povećanje opsega maksimalnog niza reproduciranog unazad u usporedbi s mjerenjem prije stimulacije, dok isto nije dobiveno u sham uvjetu. Nije dobivena značajna razlika u uspjehu na n-back zadatku između anodalne i sham sesije na grupnim podacima, no dobivena je interakcija stimulacijskog uvjeta i njihovog rasporeda zadavanja – pokazalo se da je kada je anodalna stimulacija primijenjena tek u drugoj sesiji došlo do značajno veće proporcije točnosti na n-back zadatku uslijed anodalne u usporedbi sa sham stimulacijom. Anodalna stimulacija nije proizvela značajnu razliku između pred- i post-mjerenja inhibicije na inkongruentnim podražajima u Stroopovom zadatku u usporedbi sa sham sesijom. Naposljetku, dobivena je značajna interakcija stimulacijskog uvjeta i točke mjerenja na korigiranoj mjeri perceptivne brzine, pri čemu je došlo do većeg pred-post ubrzanja prilikom primjene anodalne stimulacije, u usporedbi sa sham uvjetom. Navedeni nalazi upućuju na aktivnu ulogu DLPFC-a u procesima radnog pamćenja i perceptivne brzine te na potencijal atDCS-a u poboljšavanju ovih funkcija.

Abstract (english)

Transcranial direct current stimulation is a non-invasive neuromodulation method aiming to improve a range of motor and cognitive functions. This study aimed to determine whether one session of anodal transcranial stimulation applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with a direct current of 1.5 mA can improve executive functions, specifically working memory and inhibition. This was achieved by dependently measuring the effect of anodal and sham stimulation on performance improvement in the backward digit span, n-back and Stroop tasks on a sample of 21 young adult subjects. A control measure of perceptual speed was also applied to determine the specificity of neuromodulation effects. A significant interaction of the stimulation condition and the measurement point on the performance of the backward digit span task was obtained, whereby subjects demonstrated an increase in the extent of the maximum sequence reproduced backwards after anodal stimulation compared to the measurement before stimulation, while the same was not shown in the sham condition. There was no significant difference in the performance of the n-back task between the anodal and sham sessions, but the
interaction of the stimulation condition and their assigned schedule was obtained - it was shown that when the anodal stimulation was applied in the second session, a significantly higher proportion of accuracy occurred on the n-back task due to anodal compared to sham stimulation. Anodal stimulation did not produce a significant difference between pre- and post-measures of inhibition on incongruent stimuli in the Stroop task compared to the sham session. Finally, there was a significant interaction of stimulation condition and measurement point on the adjusted measure of perceptual speed, indicating that there was a greater pre-post acceleration when anodal stimulation was applied, compared to the sham condition. The findings point to the active role of the DLPFC in the processes of working memory and perceptual speed, and to the potential of atDCS in improving these functions.

• Keywords: izvršne funkcije; radno pamćenje; inhibicija; transkranijalna stimulacija jednosmjernom strujom (tDCS); dorzolateralni prefrontalni korteks (DLPFC)
• Keywords (english): executive functions; working memory; inhibition; transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)
• Language: croatian
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:857762
• Study programme: Title: Psychology; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra psihologije (magistar/magistra psihologije)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2022-10-03 20:21:10