Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Cognitive Function after Aging and Alzheimer's Disease (review) / 中国康复理论与实践

ABSTRACT

Aging leads to cognitive decline, including memory, attention, language and execution. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder closely related to age. Decreased cognitive function is one of its core symptoms. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been used in old healthy adults and AD patients to improve aging-related cognitive impairment. tDCS can improve memory (situational memory, semantic memory and working memory), language, error awareness and attentional functions in the old adults, which were influenced by many factors, such as education levels, stimulation parameters and individual task baseline scores, etc. For AD patients, tDCS may improve their cognitive function, which is influenced by the factors as anatomical differences, severity of disease, stimulation parameters and assessment tools, etc. Cognitive training combined with tDCS can further improve cognitive function in old adults and AD patients.