THE EFFECT OF TRANSCRANIAL ALTERNATING CURRENT STIMULATION (TACS) ON ATTENTION IN STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL LEARNING DISORDER: SEMI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Background & Aims: This main aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) on attention in students with specific learning disorder. Materials & Methods: Twenty students of elementary school with specific learning disorders were selected through purposive sampling method and randomly divided into two groups, the experimental and control groups (10 in each group). At first, the subjects' selective attention was evaluated by Stroop task. Then in the experimental group two anodal electrodes were simultaneously placed over the F3 and P3, whilst cathedral electrode was placed over the FP2, the according to the International 10/20 system. An alternative electrical current at 10 Hz (Alpha wave) was delivered at 1 mA intensity for 20 min. The same protocol was used for the control group, except that they received stimulation for only 30 s. At the end, the Stroop test was again administrated. Data were analyzed using multivariate covariance method. Results: The findings showed that alpha-wave-induced Transcranial Stimulation could have a positive and significant effect on the accuracy and response time of students with specific learning disorder. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that Transcranial Stimulation with alpha wave in the F3-P3 region of students with learning disorder can be effective in improving their attention and improve their careful function. Therefore, this method can be used as a non-pharmacological method to improve the function of these individuals.