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Zani A, Crotti N, Marzorati M, Senerchia A, Proverbio AM. Acute hypoxia alters visuospatial attention orienting: an electrical neuroimaging study. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22746. [PMID: 38123610 PMCID: PMC10733389 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49431-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Our study investigated the effects of hypoxia on visuospatial attention processing during preparation for a single/double-choice motor response. ERPs were recorded in two sessions in which participants breathed either ambient-air or oxygen-impoverished air. During each session, participants performed four cue-target attention orienting and/or alerting tasks. Replicating the classic findings of valid visuospatial attentional orienting modulation, ERPs to pre-target cues elicited both an Anterior directing attention negativity (ADAN)/CNV and a posterior Late directing attention positivity (LDAP)/TP, which in ambient air were larger for attention orienting than for alerting. Hypoxia increased the amplitude of both these potentials in the spatial orienting conditions for the upper visual hemifield, while, for the lower hemifield, it increased ADAN/CNV, but decreased LDAP/TP for the same attention conditions. To these ERP changes corresponded compensatory enhanced activation of right anterior cingulate cortex, left superior parietal lobule and frontal gyrus, as well as detrimental effects of hypoxia on behavioral overt performance. Together, these findings reveal for the first time, to our knowledge, that (1) these reversed alterations of the activation patterns during the time between cue and target occur at a larger extent in hypoxia than in air, and (2) acute normobaric hypoxia alters visuospatial attention orienting shifting in space.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Zani
- School of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 58-60, 20132, Milan, MI, Italy.
| | - N Crotti
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan (MI), Italy
| | - M Marzorati
- Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council (CNR ITB), Segrate, MI, Italy
| | - A Senerchia
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan (MI), Italy
| | - A M Proverbio
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan (MI), Italy
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Vecchio F, Nucci L, Pappalettera C, Miraglia F, Iacoviello D, Rossini PM. Time-frequency analysis of brain activity in response to directional and non-directional visual stimuli: an event related spectral perturbations (ERSP) study. J Neural Eng 2022; 19. [PMID: 36270505 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac9c96] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Objective.A large part of the cerebral cortex is dedicated to the processing of visual stimuli and there is still much to understand about such processing modalities and hierarchies. The main aim of the present study is to investigate the differences between directional visual stimuli (DS) and non-directional visual stimuli (n-DS) processing by time-frequency analysis of brain electroencephalographic activity during a visuo-motor task. Electroencephalography (EEG) data were divided into four regions of interest (ROIs) (frontal, central, parietal, occipital).Approach.The analysis of the visual stimuli processing was based on the combination of electroencephalographic recordings and time-frequency analysis. Event related spectral perturbations (ERSPs) were computed with spectrum analysis that allow to obtain the average time course of relative changes induced by the stimulus presentation in spontaneous EEG amplitude spectrum.Main results.Visual stimuli processing enhanced the same pattern of spectral modulation in all investigated ROIs with differences in amplitudes and timing. Additionally, statistically significant differences in occipital ROI between the DS and n-DS visual stimuli processing in theta, alpha and beta bands were found.Significance.These evidences suggest that ERSPs could be a useful tool to investigate the encoding of visual information in different brain regions. Because of their simplicity and their capability in the representation of brain activity, the ERSPs might be used as biomarkers of functional recovery for example in the rehabilitation of visual dysfunction and motor impairment following a stroke, as well as diagnostic tool of anomalies in brain functions in neurological diseases tailored to personalized treatments in clinical environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Vecchio
- Brain Connectivity Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy.,Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, eCampus University, Novedrate, Como, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Nucci
- Brain Connectivity Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Pappalettera
- Brain Connectivity Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy.,Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, eCampus University, Novedrate, Como, Italy
| | - Francesca Miraglia
- Brain Connectivity Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy.,Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, eCampus University, Novedrate, Como, Italy
| | - Daniela Iacoviello
- Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering Antonio Ruberti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Maria Rossini
- Brain Connectivity Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS San Raffaele Roma, Rome, Italy
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Chen YD, Kaestner M, Norcia AM. Cognitive penetrability of scene representations based on horizontal image disparities. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17902. [PMID: 36284130 PMCID: PMC9596438 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22670-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The structure of natural scenes is signaled by many visual cues. Principal amongst them are the binocular disparities created by the laterally separated viewpoints of the two eyes. Disparity cues are believed to be processed hierarchically, first in terms of local measurements of absolute disparity and second in terms of more global measurements of relative disparity that allow extraction of the depth structure of a scene. Psychophysical and oculomotor studies have suggested that relative disparities are particularly relevant to perception, whilst absolute disparities are not. Here, we compare neural responses to stimuli that isolate the absolute disparity cue with stimuli that contain additional relative disparity cues, using the high temporal resolution of EEG to determine the temporal order of absolute and relative disparity processing. By varying the observers' task, we assess the extent to which each cue is cognitively penetrable. We find that absolute disparity is extracted before relative disparity, and that task effects arise only at or after the extraction of relative disparity. Our results indicate a hierarchy of disparity processing stages leading to the formation of a proto-object representation upon which higher cognitive processes can act.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulan D Chen
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA
- Wu-Tsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, 290 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Milena Kaestner
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Wu-Tsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, 290 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Anthony M Norcia
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA
- Wu-Tsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, 290 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA
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Kurki I, Hyvärinen A, Henriksson L. Dynamics of retinotopic spatial attention revealed by multifocal MEG. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119643. [PMID: 36150606 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual focal attention is both fast and spatially localized, making it challenging to investigate using human neuroimaging paradigms. Here, we used a new multivariate multifocal mapping method with magnetoencephalography (MEG) to study how focal attention in visual space changes stimulus-evoked responses across the visual field. The observer's task was to detect a color change in the target location, or at the central fixation. Simultaneously, 24 regions in visual space were stimulated in parallel using an orthogonal, multifocal mapping stimulus sequence. First, we used univariate analysis to estimate stimulus-evoked responses in each channel. Then we applied multivariate pattern analysis to look for attentional effects on the responses. We found that attention to a target location causes two spatially and temporally separate effects. Initially, attentional modulation is brief, observed at around 60-130 ms post stimulus, and modulates responses not only at the target location but also in adjacent regions. A later modulation was observed from around 200 ms, which was specific to the location of the attentional target. The results support the idea that focal attention employs several processing stages and suggest that early attentional modulation is less spatially specific than late.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilmari Kurki
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Aapo Hyvärinen
- Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Linda Henriksson
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland; MEG Core and Aalto Behavioral Laboratory, Aalto NeuroImaging, Aalto University, Finland.
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Proverbio AM, Broido V, De Benedetto F, Zani A. Scalp-recorded N40 visual evoked potential: Sensory and attentional properties. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 54:6553-6574. [PMID: 34486754 PMCID: PMC9293152 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
N40 is a well-known component of evoked potentials with respect to the auditory and somatosensory modality but not much recognized with regard to the visual modality. To be detected with event-related potentials (ERPs), it requires an optimal signal-to-noise ratio. To investigate the nature of visual N40, we recorded EEG/ERP signals from 20 participants. Each of them was presented with 1800 spatial frequency gratings of 0.75, 1.5, 3 and 6 c/deg. Data were collected from 128 sites while participants were engaged in both passive viewing and attention conditions. N40 (30-55 ms) was modulated by alertness and selective attention; in fact, it was larger to targets than irrelevant and passively viewed spatial frequency gratings. Its strongest intracranial sources were the bilateral thalamic nuclei of pulvinar, according to swLORETA. The active network included precuneus, insula and inferior parietal lobule. An N80 component (60-90 ms) was also identified, which was larger to targets than irrelevant/passive stimuli and more negative to high than low spatial frequencies. In contrast, N40 was not sensitive to spatial frequency per se, nor did it show a polarity inversion as a function of spatial frequency. Attention, alertness and spatial frequency effects were also found for the later components P1, N2 and P300. The attentional effects increased in magnitude over time. The data showed that ERPs can pick up the earliest synchronized activity, deriving in part from thalamic nuclei, before the visual information has actually reached the occipital cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,Milan Center for Neuroscience (NeuroMi), University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Veronica Broido
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Alberto Zani
- School of Psychology, Vita Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
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