Article

The aim of this study was to investigate whether anodal transcranial
direct current stimulation over the left temporoparietal area improved
audioverbal memory performance in stroke patients. DESIGN: Twelve stroke patients
with audioverbal memory impairment participated in a single-masked, crossover,
and sham-controlled experiment. The anodal or sham transcranial direct current
stimulation was applied during the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, which
evaluates the ability to recall a list of 15 heard words over five trials. The
number of correctly recalled words was compared between the anodal and sham
conditions and the influence of transcranial direct current stimulation on serial
position effect of the 15 words was also examined. RESULTS: The increase in the
number of correctly recalled words from the first to the fifth trial was
significantly greater in the anodal condition than in the sham condition (P <
0.01). There was a significant difference (P < 0.01) between the anodal and sham
conditions in the number of correctly recalled words within the first five words
(primacy region) over the second to fifth trial trials, but not in the middle
(next five words) or recency (last five words) regions. CONCLUSIONS: Anodal
transcranial direct current stimulation over the left temporoparietal area
improved audioverbal memory performance and induced the primacy effect in stroke
patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS