Effectiveness of combination therapy of computerized cognitive rehabilitation and transcranial direct current stimulation on the cognitive function in elderlies

Aging is a process that causes changes in cognitive function and disruption in peoplechr('39')s daily activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of combination therapy of computerized cognitive rehabilitation and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the cognitive function in elderly people in Mashhad.

This quasi-experimental and follow-up study was a pre-test-post-test control group design. The study subjects were 60 elderly people aged 60 years and over. They randomly assigned to three experimental groups and a control group. For the three experimental groups, tDCS sessions of the brain, computer-based cognitive rehabilitation, and combination therapy were performed daily for two consecutive weeks. Dependent variables were measured in three rounds of pre-test, post-test, and follow up using symbol digit modalities test, digit span, and integrated visual and auditory tests. Repeated measurement analysis of variance was used to analyze the data.

There was a significant difference in the cognitive function between the experimental and control groups. The effectiveness of combination therapy was also different from separate treatments (F= 19.39, p<0.05).

Computer-based cognitive rehabilitation and tDCS individually improved cognitive function in experimental groups compared to the control group. However, the combination therapy was more effective than the individual therapies and can be one of the useful and practical treatments in this field.