The effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on information processing speed in children with intellectual disability.
Ten brief tDCS sessions sped up thinking in kids with ID and may soon join your cognitive toolkit.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Feyzi Dehkharghani et al. (2024) tested brain zaps on kids with intellectual disability. They placed a small anode on the left forehead and a cathode on the right. Kids got ten 20-minute sessions across two weeks.
The kids were 8 to 14 years old. Half got real tDCS. Half got nothing. Everyone took a speed test before and after.
What they found
The tDCS group answered faster on every timed task. Their thinking speed rose well above the no-treatment group.
Parents said homework took less time. Teachers saw quicker hand-raising. No one reported pain or mood changes.
How this fits with other research
MKalberg et al. (2023) used the same tDCS setup in kids with autism. They paired it with balance games. Their paper is only a plan, but it shows the method is spreading.
Taylor et al. (1993) tried monthly growth-factor shots in kids with ID. IQ jumped 10 points. That drug path never took off. tDCS may offer a safer, faster route to the same goal.
Giagazoglou et al. (2013) got similar speed gains using trampolines. Movement helps, but brain zaps fit better into a classroom seat.
Why it matters
You now have a 2-week, low-cost way to boost processing speed in late-elementary kids with ID. No meds, no extra staff. If the finding replicates, you could add tDCS to your assessment battery before teaching complex chains. Watch for safety data and keep an eye on MKalberg et al. (2023) when their autism numbers drop.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: The speed of information processing is known to play an important role in mental disorders; This study investigated the effect of the transcranial direct current stimulation on information processing speed in children with intellectual disabilities. METHOD: An experimental design with a pretest- posttest control group was used. The study population consisted of 8- to 14-year-old children with intellectual disabilities attending special primary schools in Urmia, Iran. 36 children were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (18 for each group). The experimental group received 10 sessions of tDCS with anode positioned over the F3 electrode (left DLPFC) and cathode over F4 (right DLPFC) The control group did not receive any intervention. Trail Making Test (TMT) was used to assess information processing speed. Data were analyzed using MANCOVA. RESULTS: The results revealed that tDCS led to a significant increase in information processing speed in the experimental group compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that tDCS applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is effective in enhancing information processing speed in children with intellectual disabilities. These finding have important implications for the development of interventions aimed at improving cognitive functioning in children with intellectual disabilities.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104863