title: Transfer of cognitive training across magnitude dimensions achieved with concurrent brain stimulation of the parietal lobe.
abstract: Improvement in performance following cognitive training is known to be further enhanced when coupled with brain stimulation. Here we ask whether training-induced changes can be maintained long term and, crucially, whether they can extend to other related but untrained skills. We trained overall 40 human participants on a simple and well established paradigm assessing the ability to discriminate numerosity--or the number of items in a set--which is thought to rely on an "approximate number sense" (ANS) associated with parietal lobes. We coupled training with parietal stimulation in the form of transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), a noninvasive technique that modulates neural activity. This yielded significantly better and longer lasting improvement (up to 16 weeks post-training) of the precision of the ANS compared with cognitive training in absence of stimulation, stimulation in absence of cognitive training, and cognitive training coupled to stimulation to a control site (motor areas). Critically, only ANS improvement induced by parietal tRNS + Training transferred to proficiency in other parietal lobe-based quantity judgment, i.e., time and space discrimination, but not to quantity-unrelated tasks measuring attention, executive functions, and visual pattern recognition. These results indicate that coupling intensive cognitive training with tRNS to critical brain regions resulted not only in the greatest and longer lasting improvement of numerosity discrimination, but importantly in this enhancement being transferable when trained and untrained abilities are carefully chosen to share common cognitive and neuronal components.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy, Department of Psychology, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy, Department of Cognitive Sciences and Education, University of Trento, 38122 Trento, Italy, and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD Oxford United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Marinella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cappelletti
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gessaroli
authors.forename: Rosalyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hithersay
authors.forename: Micaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitolo
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Didino
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kanai
authors.forename: Roi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cohen Kadosh
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Walsh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013997:Time Factors; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D014163:Transfer, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
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