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Phase of transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates reaction time in working memory tasks.

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Τίτλος: Phase of transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates reaction time in working memory tasks.
Συγγραφείς: Dimmendaal J; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands., Wang X; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Medical School, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China., Dijkslag BJ; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands., Huizinga LE; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands., Maalderink S; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands., Priest M; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands., van Dam FJE; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands., Span MM; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands., Wischnewski M; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.wischnewski@rug.nl.
Πηγή: NeuroImage [Neuroimage] 2026 Oct 01; Vol. 339, pp. 122157. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 31.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Academic Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9215515 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1095-9572 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10538119 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Neuroimage Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Orlando, FL : Academic Press, c1992-
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation*/methods , Memory, Short-Term*/physiology , Reaction Time*/physiology , Prefrontal Cortex*/physiology , Psychomotor Performance*/physiology , Theta Rhythm*/physiology, Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Cognitive Enhancement
Περίληψη: Background: Theta-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over prefrontal cortex has been proposed to modulate working memory (WM), yet behavioral effects are often inconsistent. One potential source of variability is the tACS phase during stimulus presentation.
Objective: We tested whether behavioral performance during WM depends on the phase of prefrontal theta-tACS.
Methods: Twenty participants completed two sessions of prefrontal 4 Hz tACS in a within-subject design, receiving active and sham stimulation in separate sessions. Participants performed a visuospatial change detection task (CDT) and a verbal N-back task. Stimulation effects on overall accuracy and reaction time were analyzed. Subsequently, phase-specific analyses related stimulation phase at task-relevant stimulus presentation to behavioral performance using circular regression models. Preferred phases across participants were tested using Rayleigh tests.
Results: No significant overall effects of active compared with sham tACS on accuracy or reaction time were observed in either task. However, phase-specific analyses revealed stronger phase-dependent modulation of reaction time during active tACS compared with sham. In the CDT, this effect was present across difficulty levels, whereas in the N-back task it was observed only in the 3-back condition. No reliable phase-dependent effects were observed for accuracy. Preferred phases varied across participants and did not cluster around a common phase.
Conclusions: Prefrontal theta-tACS can modulate WM performance in a phase-dependent manner even in the absence of average behavioral effects. The observation of phase-dependent reaction-time modulation across visuospatial and verbal WM tasks suggests that stimulation phase may be a relevant source of variability across cognitive domains.
(Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Inter-individual variability; Oscillation phase; Transcranial alternating current stimulation; Working memory
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260731 Date Completed: 20260911 Latest Revision: 20260911
Update Code: 20260912
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2026.122157
PMID: 42537892
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE
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  Data: Phase of transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates reaction time in working memory tasks.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Dimmendaal+J%22">Dimmendaal J</searchLink>; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Wang+X%22">Wang X</searchLink>; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Medical School, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Dijkslag+BJ%22">Dijkslag BJ</searchLink>; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Huizinga+LE%22">Huizinga LE</searchLink>; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Maalderink+S%22">Maalderink S</searchLink>; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Priest+M%22">Priest M</searchLink>; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22van+Dam+FJE%22">van Dam FJE</searchLink>; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Span+MM%22">Span MM</searchLink>; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Wischnewski+M%22">Wischnewski M</searchLink>; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.wischnewski@rug.nl.
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  Data: <i>Publisher: </i><searchLink fieldCode="PB" term="%22Academic+Press%22">Academic Press </searchLink><i>Country of Publication: </i>United States <i>NLM ID: </i>9215515 <i>Publication Model: </i>Print-Electronic <i>Cited Medium: </i>Internet <i>ISSN: </i>1095-9572 (Electronic) <i>Linking ISSN: </i><searchLink fieldCode="IS" term="%2210538119%22">10538119 </searchLink><i>NLM ISO Abbreviation: </i>Neuroimage <i>Subsets: </i>MEDLINE
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Transcranial+Direct+Current+Stimulation%22">Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Transcranial+Direct+Current+Stimulation+methods%22">methods</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Memory%2C+Short-Term%22">Memory, Short-Term*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Memory%2C+Short-Term+physiology%22">physiology</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Reaction+Time%22">Reaction Time*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Reaction+Time+physiology%22">physiology</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Prefrontal+Cortex%22">Prefrontal Cortex*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Prefrontal+Cortex+physiology%22">physiology</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Psychomotor+Performance%22">Psychomotor Performance*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Psychomotor+Performance+physiology%22">physiology</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Theta+Rhythm%22">Theta Rhythm*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Theta+Rhythm+physiology%22">physiology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Humans%22">Humans</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Male%22">Male</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Female%22">Female</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Adult%22">Adult</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Young+Adult%22">Young Adult</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Cognitive+Enhancement%22">Cognitive Enhancement</searchLink>
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  Data: Background: Theta-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over prefrontal cortex has been proposed to modulate working memory (WM), yet behavioral effects are often inconsistent. One potential source of variability is the tACS phase during stimulus presentation.<br />Objective: We tested whether behavioral performance during WM depends on the phase of prefrontal theta-tACS.<br />Methods: Twenty participants completed two sessions of prefrontal 4 Hz tACS in a within-subject design, receiving active and sham stimulation in separate sessions. Participants performed a visuospatial change detection task (CDT) and a verbal N-back task. Stimulation effects on overall accuracy and reaction time were analyzed. Subsequently, phase-specific analyses related stimulation phase at task-relevant stimulus presentation to behavioral performance using circular regression models. Preferred phases across participants were tested using Rayleigh tests.<br />Results: No significant overall effects of active compared with sham tACS on accuracy or reaction time were observed in either task. However, phase-specific analyses revealed stronger phase-dependent modulation of reaction time during active tACS compared with sham. In the CDT, this effect was present across difficulty levels, whereas in the N-back task it was observed only in the 3-back condition. No reliable phase-dependent effects were observed for accuracy. Preferred phases varied across participants and did not cluster around a common phase.<br />Conclusions: Prefrontal theta-tACS can modulate WM performance in a phase-dependent manner even in the absence of average behavioral effects. The observation of phase-dependent reaction-time modulation across visuospatial and verbal WM tasks suggests that stimulation phase may be a relevant source of variability across cognitive domains.<br /> (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
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  Data: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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  Data: <i>Keywords: </i>Inter-individual variability; Oscillation phase; Transcranial alternating current stimulation; Working memory
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