Reducing negative affect with anodal transcranial direct current stimulation increases memory performance in young-but not in elderly-individuals.

Affect can directly influence memory storage and retrieval, which offers the opportunity to improve memory performance by changing affective responses. A promising target is the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), as it is functionally involved in both affect and memory. This study explores whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the left dlPFC improves memory retrieval through the reduction of negative affect and if this interacts with age.