Effect of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Motor Learning in Healthy Individuals
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Practice is required to improve your shot in basketball or play a musical instrument. Learning these motor skills can be further enhanced by non-invasive brain-stimulation. Prior studies have shown that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied concurrently with practice of a motor task, results in better skill performance, than practice alone with sham-tDCS. This thesis sought to investigate how many additional days of practice it will take for individuals receiving sham-tDCS to reach the same performance level as individuals who receive anodal-tDCS for 1 day. Skill, composed of movement time and error-rate, was the primary dependent measure. A trend towards a greater proportion of individuals in the anodal-tDCS group (n=11) obtained the pre-determined skill level earlier than individuals in the sham-tDCS group (n=11), however skill level at 24-hour retention was comparable between groups. These findings suggest anodal-tDCS does not have additional benefits on motor learning after a period of rest.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Nirsan Kunaratnam
Language: English
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2943794550