Cerchez, Ana-Mateea (2025) Neuromodulation of Attention in Reading: The Effect of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation in Alpha Range on Reading Comprehension Accuracy moderated by Vividness of Visual Imagery. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
On a day to day basis, individuals routinely engage in numerous tasks that are carried out with minimal conscious effort. One such activity is reading: the gaze moves and the mind encodes at a very fast pace. The complexity of this seemingly effortless skill can be better understood through eye-tracking and brain stimulation experiments. In this work, the effect of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on comprehension accuracy is studied, while moderating for vividness of visual imagery. Participants were asked to read 180 sentences, with comprehension questions about the content presented intermittently throughout the reading. During this task, they received tACS on the left or right hemisphere or no brain stimulation at all. Additionally, a few questionnaires had to be completed (e.g. vividness of visual imagery). Although the statistical results were non-significant, the numerical findings suggested that there might be a small increase in comprehension accuracy while receiving left-hemisphere stimulation. Moreover, there was no detected effect of vividness of visual imagery as a moderator. The lack of significant results might be partly explained by the small sample size available (N=18). Further research on this area is needed to gain a deeper understanding of the ways transcranial alternating current stimulation influences attention in reading. Future work could consider controlling for potential influencing factors such as awareness of stimulation, which could alter the results.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Dimigen, O.C. and Sarampalis, A. and Wischnewski, M. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Aug 2025 12:09 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Aug 2025 12:09 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5802 |
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