Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

We report a large study (n=120) investigating the effects of tDCS at Fp3 on the FIE. We used a double-blind design with subjects randomly assigned to one of the three tDCS groups and then engaged with a recognition task involving upright and inverted faces. Group 1 (control), subjects first received sham tDCS in the study phase (learning) followed by sham tDCS in the recognition phase; Group 2, subjects received anodal tDCS in the study phase followed by sham tDCS in the recognition phase; Group 3, subjects received anodal tDCS in the study phase followed by cathodal tDCS in the recognition phase. Group 2's results confirmed that anodal tDCS reduces the FIE vs. sham (Group 1) by disrupting performance for upright faces. Importantly, Group 3's results revealed that cathodal tDCS applied after anodal, increased the FIE vs. Group 2, bringing it back to control, by enhancing performance for upright faces. These results reveal that the negative effects of anodal tDCS on the FIE can be reversed by cathodal tDCS.