Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on consolidation of fear memory

It has been shown that applying transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) influences declarative memory processes. This study investigates the efficacy of tDCS on emotional memory consolidation, especially experimental fear conditioning. We applie...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Frontiers in psychiatry Vol. 4; p. 107
Main Authors:	Asthana, Manish, Nueckel, Katharina, Mühlberger, Andreas, Neueder, Dorothea, Polak, Thomas, Domschke, Katharina, Deckert, Jürgen, Herrmann, Martin J
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 2013
Subjects:	dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) Fear conditioning fear memory consolidation Psychiatry skin conductance response (SCR) transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) fear conditioning dorsolateral prefrontal cortex fear memory consolidation transcranial direct current stimulation
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	It has been shown that applying transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) influences declarative memory processes. This study investigates the efficacy of tDCS on emotional memory consolidation, especially experimental fear conditioning. We applied an auditory fear-conditioning paradigm, in which two differently colored squares (blue and yellow) were presented as conditioned stimuli (CS) and an auditory stimulus as unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Sixty-nine participants were randomly assigned into three groups: anodal, cathodal, and sham stimulation. The participants of the two active groups (i.e., anodal and cathodal) received tDCS over the left DLPFC for 12 min after fear conditioning. The effect of fear conditioning and consolidation (24 h later) was measured by assessing the skin conductance response (SCR) to the CS. The results provide evidence that cathodal stimulation of the left DLPFC leads to an inhibitory effect on fear memory consolidation compared to anodal and sham stimulation, as indicated by decreased SCRs to CS+ presentation during extinction training at day 2. In conclusion, current work suggests that cathodal stimulation interferes with processes of fear memory consolidation.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Reviewed by: Tarek Rajji, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada; Wolnei Caumo, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil Edited by: Stefan Borgwardt, University of Basel, Switzerland This article was submitted to Neuropsychiatric Imaging and Stimulation, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
ISSN:	1664-0640 1664-0640
DOI:	10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00107