Efeitos da neuromodulação por corrente contínua na Memória de trabalho de idosos: estudo piloto

Abstract

The aging process affects the elderly individual with cognitive and physiological changes, not occurring homogeneously. In regards to this, working memory, responsible for the ability to acquire, conserve and evoke information, is one of the areas affected by aging. To preserve working memory, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a technique that has been gaining ground in studies. tDCS is a focal neuromodulation technique that modulates neuronal membrane potentials through their mechanisms of action. Therefore, the research aimed to investigate the acute and late (1 month) effects of tDCS interventions on the working memory of the elderly. A quantitative, longitudinal, triple-blind, repeated-measures pilot study was carried out, where five healthy elderly people with an average age of 70 years were submitted to ten consecutive days of tDCS intervention with a current of 1.5 mA in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. To measure working memory, the WAIS III digit span and letter-number sequence subtests were used, applied before and after the interventions, as well as a follow-up of one week and one month after the last intervention. An one-way ANOVA of repeated measures was performed, which did not identify significant differences over time (T0, T1, T2 and T3) F(3, 1) = 0.075, p = 0.965 for digits forward; F(3, 1) = 1.000, p = 0.609 for digits backward and F(3, 1) = 1.107, p = 0.588 for letter-number sequence. Thus, the hypothesis worked on in this research was not corroborated. It stands out for future research, an increase in sample size and replication of tDCS protocols in working memory.