Causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attention
Both visual and auditory spatial selective attention result in lateralized alpha (8–14 Hz) oscillatory power in parietal cortex: alpha increases in the hemisphere ipsilateral to attentional focus. Brain stimulation studies suggest a causal relationship between parietal alpha and suppression of the r...
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doaj-61af09f433da42d794ad994a10d8fdf52021-05-05T18:08:15ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2019-11-01810.7554/eLife.51184Causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attentionYuqi Deng0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7278-0841Robert MG Reinhart1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2156-4633Inyong Choi2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6663-9152Barbara G Shinn-Cunningham3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5096-5914Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, United StatesPsychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, United StatesCommunication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, United StatesBiomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, United States; Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, United StatesBoth visual and auditory spatial selective attention result in lateralized alpha (8–14 Hz) oscillatory power in parietal cortex: alpha increases in the hemisphere ipsilateral to attentional focus. Brain stimulation studies suggest a causal relationship between parietal alpha and suppression of the representation of contralateral visual space. However, there is no evidence that parietal alpha controls auditory spatial attention. Here, we performed high definition transcranial alternating current stimulation (HD-tACS) on human subjects performing an auditory task in which they directed attention based on either spatial or nonspatial features. Alpha (10 Hz) but not theta (6 Hz) HD-tACS of right parietal cortex interfered with attending left but not right auditory space. Parietal stimulation had no effect for nonspatial auditory attention. Moreover, performance in post-stimulation trials returned rapidly to baseline. These results demonstrate a causal, frequency-, hemispheric-, and task-specific effect of parietal alpha brain stimulation on top-down control of auditory spatial attention.https://elifesciences.org/articles/51184transcranial alternating current stimulationbrain stimulationselective auditory attentionbrain networks |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Yuqi Deng Robert MG Reinhart Inyong Choi Barbara G Shinn-Cunningham |
spellingShingle |
Yuqi Deng Robert MG Reinhart Inyong Choi Barbara G Shinn-Cunningham Causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attention eLife transcranial alternating current stimulation brain stimulation selective auditory attention brain networks |
author_facet |
Yuqi Deng Robert MG Reinhart Inyong Choi Barbara G Shinn-Cunningham |
author_sort |
Yuqi Deng |
title |
Causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attention |
title_short |
Causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attention |
title_full |
Causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attention |
title_fullStr |
Causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attention |
title_full_unstemmed |
Causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attention |
title_sort |
causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attention |
publisher |
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
series |
eLife |
issn |
2050-084X |
publishDate |
2019-11-01 |
description |
Both visual and auditory spatial selective attention result in lateralized alpha (8–14 Hz) oscillatory power in parietal cortex: alpha increases in the hemisphere ipsilateral to attentional focus. Brain stimulation studies suggest a causal relationship between parietal alpha and suppression of the representation of contralateral visual space. However, there is no evidence that parietal alpha controls auditory spatial attention. Here, we performed high definition transcranial alternating current stimulation (HD-tACS) on human subjects performing an auditory task in which they directed attention based on either spatial or nonspatial features. Alpha (10 Hz) but not theta (6 Hz) HD-tACS of right parietal cortex interfered with attending left but not right auditory space. Parietal stimulation had no effect for nonspatial auditory attention. Moreover, performance in post-stimulation trials returned rapidly to baseline. These results demonstrate a causal, frequency-, hemispheric-, and task-specific effect of parietal alpha brain stimulation on top-down control of auditory spatial attention. |
topic |
transcranial alternating current stimulation brain stimulation selective auditory attention brain networks |
url |
https://elifesciences.org/articles/51184 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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