The Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation(tDCS) from the working memory and intelligibility in children with Learning Disorders

Background and Aim : The aim of this study was to determine the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on executive functions in children with learning disabilitiesMethods : The research method is a semi-experimental design with pretest-posttest design with control group. According to the research objective, this research is an applied research. In terms of collecting data, field research was used as a cross-sectional study. The statistical population consisted of all elementary students with learning disabilities who have been referred to Omid city learning center in Azarshahr city during the academic year of 1996-97. The sample consisted of 20 students of this society who were selected through targeted sampling and randomly assigned to the experimental group (10 persons) and the control group (10 persons). Research instruments consisted of tDCS device for providing electrical stimulation, active memory subscales and Wechsler s intelligence explanation for children, respectively, for evaluating active memory and word intelligibility variables and Wisconsin card sorting test to evaluate the cognitive flexibility variable. Data analysis was used for multivariate covariance analysis and paired t-analysis.Results : The findings showed that tDCS stimulation was effective on digit working memory in children with learning disabilities, but they are not effective in understanding the language.Conclusion : The acquisitive findings indicate that the protocol of tDCS applying incrases the network cortical excitability of brain regions that play an important role in executive functions. Therefor, it can be used as a nonpharmacological treatment in rehabilitation of children with special learning disorders.

Keywords:

Direct Electric Brain Electric Stimulation , Working Memory , intelligibility , Learning Disorders