"Unfocus" on foc.us: commercial tDCS headset impairs working memory.
In this study, we tested whether the commercial transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) headset foc.us improves cognitive performance, as advertised in the media. A single-blind, sham-controlled, within-subject design was used to assess the effect of online and off-line foc.us tDCS-applied over the prefrontal cortex in healthy young volunteers (n = 24) on working memory (WM) updating and monitoring. WM updating and monitoring, as assessed by means of the N-back task, is a cognitive-control process that has been shown to benefit from interventions with CE-certified tDCS devices. For both online and off-line stimulation protocols, results showed that active stimulation with foc.us, compared to sham stimulation, significantly decreased accuracy performance in a well-established task tapping WM updating and monitoring. These results provide evidence for the important role of the scientific community in validating and testing far-reaching claims made by the brain training industry.
Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute for Psychological Research, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands. L.Steenbergen@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
Laura
L
Steenbergen
Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute for Psychological Research, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Roberta
R
Sellaro
Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute for Psychological Research, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Bernhard
B
Hommel
Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
Ulman
U
Lindenberger
Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
Simone
S
Kühn
Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute for Psychological Research, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Lorenza S
LS
Colzato
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
N-back; Updating; Working memory; foc.us; tDCS