Abstract #67: Effect of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Motor Learning in Healthy Individuals

Introduction: Practice is required to improve your shot in basketball or play a musical instrument. Learning these motor skills can be further enhanced by non-invasive brain stimulation. Reis et al (2009) showed that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the primary motor cortex (M1) applied concurrently with practice of a sequential visual isometric pinch force task (SVIPT), results in better skill performance, than practice alone with sham-tDCS. Interestingly, it appears that the sham-tDCS group who practiced the SVIPT for 5 days did not attain the same performance level as anodal-tDCS group after 1 day of practice. However, this was not explicitly tested. Objective: To investigate how many additional days of practice it will take for individuals receiving sham-tDCS to reach the same performance level as individuals who receive anodal-tDCS for 1 day.