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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2023 Dec;228(9):2137-2146.
doi: 10.1007/s00429-023-02712-0. Epub 2023 Oct 2.

Electrical stimulation of the cerebellum facilitates automatic but not controlled word retrieval

Dominika Petríková  1 , Martin Marko  1   2 , Rastislav Rovný  1 , Igor Riečanský  3   4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Electrical stimulation of the cerebellum facilitates automatic but not controlled word retrieval

Dominika Petríková et al. Brain Struct Funct. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Recent research has indicated that the cerebellum is engaged in language functions, yet the role of the cerebellum in lexical-semantic memory is poorly understood. In a double-blind randomized controlled experiment, we therefore targeted the cerebellum by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to assess and compare the contribution of the cerebellar processing to automatic and controlled retrieval of words in healthy adults (n = 136). Anodal cerebellar tDCS facilitated retrieval of semantically related words in free-associative chains, which was not due to a non-specific acceleration of processing speed. The stimulation had no influence on controlled word retrieval that employed inhibition or switching. The effect of cathodal tDCS was opposite to the anodal stimulation, but statistically non-significant. Our data show that the cerebellum is engaged extracting associative information from the system of semantic representations, established and strengthened/automated by learning, and indicates a domain-general role of this structure in automation of behavior, cognition and language.

Keywords: Cerebellum; Cognitive control; Lexical-semantic retrieval; Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS); Semantic memory; Verbal fluency.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A Timeline of the experimental procedure. The cognitive tests (ACT, SCT, and CRTT, see main text) were administered before (baseline) and immediately after tDCS (post-tDCS). The order of administration of ACT and SCT was counterbalanced across participants, while CRTT was always administered at the end of the block. For each participant, the tasks were administered in the same order in both blocks. B Electric field intensity model of the cerebellar tissue polarization (SimNIBS version 3, (Thielscher et al. 2015). Due to software limitations of possible electrode montages, the model was calculated for a reference electrode placed on the right side of the neck. (C) Baseline performance in the cognitive tasks across the groups. Error bars: ± SE; *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A The speed of word retrieval in the associated fixed condition of ACT. B The effect of cerebellar tDCS on performance in all ACT conditions. Plotted are difference RT (post-tDCS minus baseline) in each group estimated from the LMEM. Error bars: ± SE; Holm adjusted p-values: *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001
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