Balanced bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation enhances working memory in adults with high-functioning autism: a sham-controlled crossover study.

Background: Working memory (WM) often is impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Such impairment may underlie core deficits in cognition and social functioning. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to enhance WM in both healthy adults and clinical populations, but its efficacy in ASD is unknown.

Reproducibility of tDCS Results in a Randomized Trial: Failure to Replicate Findings of tDCS-Induced Enhancement of Verbal Fluency.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to enhance verbal productivity, but the finding and extent of enhancement vary across studies. Few attempts to replicate positive tDCS findings have been reported, suggesting the possibility of publication bias.

Objective: We aimed to replicate the tDCS methodology and findings of Cattaneo, Pisoni, and Papagno (2011, Neuroscience 183:64-70) in a new population sample.

Can Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Improve Cognitive Functioning in Adults with Schizophrenia?

Cognitive impairment is nearly ubiquitous in schizophrenia. First-degree relatives of persons with schizophrenia often show similar but milder deficits. Current methods for the treatment of schizophrenia are often ineffective in cognitive remediation.

Brain activation in restrained and unrestrained eaters: an fMRI study.

Restraint theory has been used to model the process that produces binge eating. However, there is no satisfactory explanation for the tendency of restrained eaters (REs) to engage in counterregulatory eating, an ostensible analogue of binge eating. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the authors investigated brain activation of normal weight REs (N = 9) and unrestrained eaters (UREs; N = 10) when fasted and fed and viewing pictures of highly and moderately palatable foods and neutral objects.

Asymmetric prefrontal cortex activation in relation to markers of overeating in obese humans.

Dietary restraint is heavily influenced by affect, which has been independently related to asymmetrical activation in the prefrontal cortex (prefrontal asymmetry) in electroencephalograph (EEG) studies. In normal weight individuals, dietary restraint has been related to prefrontal asymmetry; however, this relationship was not mediated by affect. This study was designed to test the hypotheses that, in an overweight and obese sample, dietary restraint as well as binge eating, disinhibition, hunger, and appetitive responsivity would be related to prefrontal asymmetry independent of affect at the time of assessment.

Neural correlates of individual differences related to appetite.

Using neuroimaging technologies to compare normal weight and obese individuals can reveal much about the pathophysiological state of obesity but such comparisons tell us little about what makes some normal weight individuals susceptible to obesity or about important individual differences amongst obese individuals. The current review therefore reviews neuroimaging research on individual difference measures that can illuminate these important topics. After introducing three neuropsychological models of the nature of motivation to approach rewarding stimuli, neuroimaging research on measures of impulsivity, craving, binge eating, restrained eating and disinhibited eating is reviewed.