Examining the influence of brain stimulation to the medial prefrontal cortex on the self ‐reference effect in memory

In this investigation we examined the extent transcranial direct current (tDCS) applied to the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) affects memory for information processed in reference to the self. We found strong evidence that self-referential processing improved memory (relative to a control condition), but further showed that tDCS did not have strong effects on memory. Results advance understanding of the extent tDCS affects memory. AbstractPast work shows that processing information in relation to the self improves memory which is known as the self-reference effect in memory. Other work suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can also improve memory. Given recent research on self-reference context memory effects (improved memory for contextual episodic details associated with self-referential processing), we were interested in examining the extent stimulation might increase the magnitude of the self-reference context memory effect. In this investigation, participants studied objects superimposed on different background scenes in either a self-reference or other-reference condition while receiving either active or sham stimulation to the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), a cortical region known to support self-reference context memory effects. Participants then completed a memory test that assessed item memory (have you seen this object before?) and context memory (with which background scene was this object paired?). Results showed a self-r...

Source: Brain and Behavior - November 5, 2021 Category: Neurology Authors: Camill Burden, Ryan C. Leach, Allison M. Sklenar, Pauline Urban Levy, Andrea N. Frankenstein, Eric D. Leshikar Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research