| Numerical cognitive processing,as an important ingredient of science,includes numerical calculation and reasoning.Enhancing the ability of numerical cognitive processing could help individuals analyze and solve the science problems.Transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS)is a low-current,non-invasive brain stimulation technique that can modulate cerebral cortical excitability and has been widely used for cognitive enhancement.This study explored the effects of tDCS on the numerical cognitive processing and a sub-component of numerical reasoning with two experiments,and explored the neural mechanisms of numerical cognitive processing.Experiment 1 adopted a 2(stimulated brain area:left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex vs.left perisylvian)X 2(stimulation method:anodal tDCS vs.sham tDCS)X 2(experiment task:numerical reasoning vs.numerical calculation)mixed experimental design,and recruited 30 male participants to explore the effect on numerical reasoning and calculation with anodal tDCS applied on different brain areas.In experiment 2,51 male participants were recruited and randomly assigned into three groups:anodal tDCS,cathodal tDCS,and sham tDCS.Numerical reasoning tasks were administrated after different tDCS applied on the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.This experiment aimed to explore the effect of tDCS on the cognitive sub-component of numerical reasoning-checking.The main conclusions of this study are as follows:(1)the effect of tDCS on numerical reasoning and calculation is not significant for the behavioral data;(2)the sub-component of numerical reasoning-checking is related to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex;(3)the anodal tDCS may facilitate the process of checking. |
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