Effects of Cerebellar tDCS on Inhibitory Control: Evidence from a Go/NoGo Task

Mannarelli, Daniela; Pauletti, Caterina; Petritis, Alessia; Chiaie, Roberto Delle; Currà, Antonio; Trompetto, Carlo; Fattapposta, Francesco · 2020 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1007/s12311-020-01165-z

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Summary

This study investigates the role of the cerebellum in executive functioning, specifically response inhibition, by examining the effects of cerebellar inhibition on event-related potentials (ERPs) during a Go/NoGo task. While previous research implicated the cerebellum in cognitive control, its specific contribution to inhibitory processes remained unclear due to confounding motor demands in neuroimaging studies and non-isolated lesions in clinical populations. The authors hypothesized that transiently inhibiting the right cerebellar hemisphere via cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) would impair the ability to allocate attentional resources to conflict signals and disrupt inhibitory control. Sixteen healthy, right-handed subjects participated in a double-blind, sham-controlled, crossover study. Each subject underwent two sessions separated by at least six days: one with cathodal tDCS (2 mA for 20 minutes over the right cerebellum) and one with sham stimulation. In each session, subjects performed an auditory Go/NoGo task and a simple reaction time task before and after stimulation. The Go/NoGo task required participants to respond to specific tones (Go) and withhold responses to others (NoGo). EEG data were recorded using a 21-channel cap, focusing on midline electrodes (Fz, Cz, Pz) to analyze N2 and P3 components, which reflect initial stimulus orienting and later response evaluation, respectively. Statistical analyses included repeated-measures ANOVA for ERP parameters and non-parametric tests for behavioral errors. The results demonstrated that cathodal tDCS selectively impaired processing of NoGo stimuli without affecting Go stimuli or sham conditions. Specifically, cathodal stimulation significantly reduced the amplitude and prolonged the latency of the N2 component elicited by NoGo trials. Behaviorally, commission errors (false alarms) on NoGo trials increased significantly after cathodal tDCS compared to baseline, while omission errors and reaction times for Go trials remained unchanged. No significant differences were observed in the P3 component or in performance on the simple reaction time task, indicating that basic motor execution and later-stage response cancellation were unaffected. Self-reported measures of attention, fatigue, and pain did not differ between conditions. These findings indicate that cerebellar inhibition disrupts the initial orienting and discrimination of incongruent stimuli, leading to impaired inhibitory control. The authors conclude that the cerebellum regulates attentional mechanisms and inhibitory control both directly, through error prediction, and indirectly, by modulating the activity of cortical areas involved in conflict perception and basal ganglia circuits responsible for movement inhibition. The study provides evidence that the cerebellum is integral to the early stages of response inhibition, specifically in detecting conflict and allocating attentional resources, rather than in the final motor suppression phase.

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• executive function