Sophia Meguid
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Benjamin Hampstead
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Department of Psychiatry / Medicine
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Authors: Sophia Meguid, Loryn Davidson, Alexandru Iordan, Benjamin Hampstead
Abstract
Our project evaluated the relationship between baseline cognitive performance and changes in spatial navigation ability following high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS). We used data from a larger study that investigated the effects of HD-tDCS on spatial navigation in healthy controls and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Here, we examined the relationship between a composite measure of cognitive performance and changes in allocentric and egocentric spatial navigation following HD-tDCS. We hypothesized that baseline cognitive performance will be associated with improvements in spatial navigation following HD-tDCS. Our results identified a positive relationship between baseline cognitive performance and improvement mainly in allocentric spatial navigation, though it did not reach statistical significance. Improvement in spatial navigation performance in individuals with MCI could help maintain independence, safety, sense of purpose, and quality of life.
