Long-term after-effects of mental rotation training: a behavior and ERP study

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Abstract Mental rotation is a crucial cognitive skill underlying performance in various spatial tasks. It can be enhanced through repetitive practice in previous studies. However, the long-term efficacy of training and non-invasive brain stimulation and its associated neurophysiological correlates are yet to be elucidated. This study investigated the long-term after-effects of 10 days of mental rotation training with high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) on behavioral performance and neural electrophysiology in 34 healthy participants. Mental rotation tests along with EEG recording were performed 1 day before training, 1 day, 20 days, and 90 days after training. While no significant group differences emerged due to stimulation, training resulted in improved task accuracy, decreased response time, and increased task-evoked EEG responses. These effects diminished over time in the follow-up tests but remained superior to pre-training levels at 90 days. Surprisingly, there was still a sustained elevation in task-evoked neurophysiological responses 20 days after training compared to 1 day after training. Individual differences, such as gender and baseline performance, probably modulated training outcomes and long-term after-effects. These findings shed light on the potential of mental rotation training to enhance cognitive function and highlight the feasibility and necessity for further exploration of training to enhance cognitive-related neuroplasticity.
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Long-term after-effects of mental rotation training: a behavior and ERP study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Long-term after-effects of mental rotation training: a behavior and ERP study Yufeng Ke, Linlin Dong, Xiaodong Zhu, Shuang Liu, Dong Ming This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4480313/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Mental rotation is a crucial cognitive skill underlying performance in various spatial tasks. It can be enhanced through repetitive practice in previous studies. However, the long-term efficacy of training and non-invasive brain stimulation and its associated neurophysiological correlates are yet to be elucidated. This study investigated the long-term after-effects of 10 days of mental rotation training with high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) on behavioral performance and neural electrophysiology in 34 healthy participants. Mental rotation tests along with EEG recording were performed 1 day before training, 1 day, 20 days, and 90 days after training. While no significant group differences emerged due to stimulation, training resulted in improved task accuracy, decreased response time, and increased task-evoked EEG responses. These effects diminished over time in the follow-up tests but remained superior to pre-training levels at 90 days. Surprisingly, there was still a sustained elevation in task-evoked neurophysiological responses 20 days after training compared to 1 day after training. Individual differences, such as gender and baseline performance, probably modulated training outcomes and long-term after-effects. These findings shed light on the potential of mental rotation training to enhance cognitive function and highlight the feasibility and necessity for further exploration of training to enhance cognitive-related neuroplasticity. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Learning and memory/Long-term memory Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Learning and memory/Spatial memory mental rotation training HD-tDCS EEG Full Text Additional Declarations (Not answered) Supplementary Files Appendix.pdf Supplementary Material of Long-term after-effects of mental rotation training: a behavior and ERP study Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: revise 03 Oct, 2024 Review # 2 received at journal 01 Oct, 2024 Reviewer # 2 agreed at journal 04 Sep, 2024 Review # 1 received at journal 07 Jul, 2024 Reviewer # 1 agreed at journal 27 Jun, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 24 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 27 May, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 26 May, 2024 First submitted to journal 26 May, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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