Researchers of a recent study, presented at the 2023 SLEEP Annual Meeting, explored the effects of slow oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation (SO-tDCS) on word recall during restricted nighttime sleep. The study found that patients who received SO-tDCS had better word recall after 2 hours of sleep compared with those who received sham treatment. This has important implications for situations where individuals need to perform with insufficient sleep, such as in military operations. The study involved healthy participants who were shown word pairs before a 2-hour sleep period and were asked to recall the pairs immediately after learning and at 20 minutes and 120 minutes after awakening.
The results showed that the sham group had decreased word recall after awakening compared to the SO-tDCS group. In a separate study, the effects of SO-tDCS on declarative memory in young participants were reexamined, and it was found that stimulation had no significant impact on sleep-dependent memory consolidation or sleep patterns.
Reference: Ciccone I. Slow Oscillatory Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Improves Memory Consolidation During Restricted Nighttime Sleep. Neurology Live. Updated June 8, 2023. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://www.neurologylive.com/view/slow-oscillatory-transcranial-direct-current-stimulation-improves-memory-consolidation-during-restricted-nighttime-sleep.
