Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with retrieval practice on semantic memory in patients with schizophrenia

Methods

We recruited 52 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia from hospitals. After five consecutive days of tDCS intervention (2 mA × 20 mins, twice per day), we administered a word list memorization task comparing retrieval practice and restudy strategies. Subsequently, we observed their immediate and delayed memory performance through tests.

Results: The semantic memory performance of the anodal group significantly surpassed that of the sham group. There was a significant interaction between stimulation type and learning strategy; regardless of the stimulation modality employed, retrieval practice outperformed restudy strategy. Notably, the semantic memory performance under retrieval practice conditions in the anodal group was significantly superior.

ARC clustering scores fully mediate stimulus type and retrieval practice recall rates.