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Cognitive Enhancement of Numerical and Arithmetic Capabilities: a Mini-Review of Available Transcranial Electric Stimulation Studies

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An Erratum to this article was published on 10 March 2017

Abstract

Arithmetic capabilities are complex cognitive skills essential for handling requirements of the modern world. At the same time, educational institutions are challenged with math-related problems, e.g., developmental dyscalculia and math anxiety, and also with less severe difficulties of arithmetic understanding. Thus, non-invasive techniques for cognitive enhancement have attracted researchers’ and practitioners’ interest in the fields of education, psychology, and neuroscience. Particularly, studies employing transcranial electric stimulation (tES) in arithmetic learning, problem solving, and performance in numerical tasks and operations have shaped an optimistic perspective of cognitive enhancement in these domains, building on the fronto-parietal correlates of healthy and deficient arithmetic performance and learning. However, the heterogeneity of stimulation approaches in numerical cognition research—with different electrode montages, stimulation protocols, tasks, outcomes, and combinations thereof—may also showcase a variety of parameters relevant more generally to the cognitive domain. Here, we present a short overview of the different tES approaches to enhance numerical and arithmetic capabilities in performance and training within the general framework of cognitive enhancement. We conclude that performance and training gains can be obtained from different strategical tES configurations, but more standardization, better translation between neurodevelopmental perspectives and tES principles, as well as pre-registered and controlled studies in critical populations are needed.

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Notes

  1. A PubMed search (tDCS/tRNS AND arithmetic/numerical cognition) identified 34 papers that were manually screened for original results and new cross-referenced studies.

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Acknowledgements

Christina Artemenko and Thomas Dresler were funded by the LEAD Graduate School & Research Network (GSC1028), a project of the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal and State Governments, where Hans-Christoph Nuerk is a principal investigator. Hans-Christoph Nuerk’s work was funded by the ScienceCampus Tübingen (cluster 8).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    P. A. Schroeder & T. Dresler

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    P. A. Schroeder, J. Bahnmueller & H.-C. Nuerk

  3. LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tübingen, Gartenstr. 29, 72074, Tübingen, Germany

    T. Dresler, C. Artemenko & H.-C. Nuerk

  4. Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    J. Bahnmueller & H.-C. Nuerk

  5. Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, 0X1 3UD, UK

    R. Cohen Kadosh

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  1. P. A. Schroeder
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  2. T. Dresler
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  4. C. Artemenko
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  6. H.-C. Nuerk
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Correspondence to P. A. Schroeder.

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An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s41465-017-0014-7.

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Schroeder, P.A., Dresler, T., Bahnmueller, J. et al. Cognitive Enhancement of Numerical and Arithmetic Capabilities: a Mini-Review of Available Transcranial Electric Stimulation Studies. J Cogn Enhanc 1, 39–47 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-016-0006-z

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