title: Transcranial direct current stimulation over left and right DLPFC: Lateralized effects on planning performance and related eye movements.
abstract: Left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) were recently found to be differentially affected by unilateral continuous theta-burst stimulation, reflected in an oppositional alteration of initial thinking time (ITT) in the Tower of London planning task. Here, we further explored this finding using bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and simultaneous tracking of eye movements. Results revealed a decrease in ITT during concurrent cathodal tDCS of left dlPFC and anodal tDCS of right dlPFC. Eye-movement analyses showed that this facilitating tDCS effect was associated with the actual planning phase, thus reflecting a planning-specific impact of stimulation. For the reverse stimulation pattern of cathodal tDCS of right dlPFC and anodal tDCS of left dlPFC, an increase in gaze shifts was observed, without a significant impact on ITT. Taken together, these findings corroborate that enhanced planning performance can be obtained by boosting right dlPFC and dismantling the inhibitory impact of left dlPFC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, Germany; Cochlear Implant Center Erlangen, ENT Department, University Hospital Erlangen, Germany. Electronic address: katharina.heinze-koehler@uk-erlangen.de.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heinze
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ruh
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; Biological and Personality Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, Germany; BrainLinks-BrainTools Cluster of Excellence, University of Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nitschke
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany; BrainLinks-BrainTools Cluster of Excellence, University of Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany; BrainLinks-BrainTools Cluster of Excellence, University of Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Brita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fritsch
authors.affiliation: Med. Psychology and Med. Sociology, University Medical Center, University of Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Josef M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Unterrainer
authors.affiliation: Med. Psychology and Med. Sociology, University Medical Center, University of Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rahm
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; BrainLinks-BrainTools Cluster of Excellence, University of Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Cornelius
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weiller
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Germany; BrainLinks-BrainTools Cluster of Excellence, University of Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Kaller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Eye movements; Hemispheric asymmetry; Planning; Tower of London task; tDCS