Comparative efficacy of tDCS and tACS in the context of enhancing executive function under acute stress: A randomized, sham-controlled study

IF 4.4 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-17 DOI:10.1016/j.ijchp.2026.100669

Zhihua Guo , Liu Yang , Yushan Li , Hongliang Lu , Rui Qiu , Xia Zhu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Acute stress impairs executive function and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) is a promising approach to the task of mitigating these deficits. This study directly compared the efficacy of two tES techniques—transcranial direct (tDCS) and alternating current (tACS) stimulation—targeting the left dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) in terms of protecting executive functions under stress and potential neural mechanisms.

Methods

In a randomized, participant-blinded, sham-controlled study, 110 healthy male undergraduates (18–25 years) received active tDCS, tACS, or sham stimulation before stress induction via the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups. Executive function was assessed using 3-back, Go/no-go, Stroop, and task-switching paradigms, and prefrontal hemodynamics were recorded with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Results

Stress induction was successfully maintained throughout the testing period. Compared with both the tACS and sham groups, the tDCS group exhibited greater working memory (3-back) accuracy. Compared with the sham group, both tES groups exhibited enhanced response inhibition (Go/no-go). Neuroimaging revealed lower left DLPFC activation during the 3-back, Go/no-go, and Stroop tasks in the tES groups, in which context tDCS was characterized by the lowest activation during cognitive inhibition. During task switching, both tES groups exhibited elevated activation in the right pre-supplementary motor area.

Conclusions

Both tDCS and tACS enhance performance in specific executive domains (working memory and response inhibition) under acute stress and demonstrate a pattern of lower prefrontal activation, consistent with the concept of improved neural efficiency. Among them, tDCS offers superior benefits. These findings establish a foundation for efforts to optimize tES-based interventions to support cognitive resilience in real-world acute-stress settings.

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tDCS和tACS在急性应激下增强执行功能的比较疗效：一项随机、假对照研究。

背景：急性应激损害执行功能和前额皮质（PFC）活动。经颅电刺激（tES）是一种很有希望减轻这些缺陷的方法。本研究直接比较了两种tES技术——经颅直接刺激（tDCS）和交流刺激（tACS）——针对左背外侧PFC （DLPFC）在应激下保护执行功能的效果和潜在的神经机制。方法：在一项随机、参与者盲法、假对照研究中，110名健康男性大学生（18-25岁）在应激诱导前通过Trier群体社会压力测试接受主动tDCS、tACS或假刺激。使用3-back、Go/no-go、Stroop和任务切换范式评估执行功能，并使用功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）记录前额叶血流动力学。结果：应力诱导在整个试验期间均得以成功维持。与tACS和假手术组相比，tDCS组表现出更高的工作记忆（3-back）准确性。与假手术组相比，两个tES组均表现出增强的反应抑制（Go/no-go）。神经成像显示，tES组在3-back、Go/no-go和Stroop任务期间，左下DLPFC激活，在此背景下，tDCS在认知抑制期间的激活最低。在任务切换过程中，两组te均表现出右侧辅助前运动区域的激活升高。结论：tDCS和tACS均能提高急性应激下特定执行域（工作记忆和反应抑制）的表现，并表现出较低的前额叶激活模式，与神经效率提高的概念一致。其中，tDCS具有优越的效益。这些发现为优化基于tes的干预措施以支持现实世界急性应激环境下的认知弹性奠定了基础。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

10.70

自引率

5.70%

发文量

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology is dedicated to publishing manuscripts with a strong emphasis on both basic and applied research, encompassing experimental, clinical, and theoretical contributions that advance the fields of Clinical and Health Psychology. With a focus on four core domains—clinical psychology and psychotherapy, psychopathology, health psychology, and clinical neurosciences—the IJCHP seeks to provide a comprehensive platform for scholarly discourse and innovation. The journal accepts Original Articles (empirical studies) and Review Articles. Manuscripts submitted to IJCHP should be original and not previously published or under consideration elsewhere. All signing authors must unanimously agree on the submitted version of the manuscript. By submitting their work, authors agree to transfer their copyrights to the Journal for the duration of the editorial process.