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Haslacher D, Cavallo A, Reber P, Kattein A, Thiele M, Nasr K, Hashemi K, Sokoliuk R, Thut G, Soekadar SR. Working memory enhancement using real-time phase-tuned transcranial alternating current stimulation. Brain Stimul 2024; 17:850-859. [PMID: 39029737 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2024.07.007] [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: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 07/02/2024] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior work has shown that transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) of parietooccipital alpha oscillations (8-14 Hz) can modulate working memory (WM) performance as a function of the phase lag to endogenous oscillations. However, leveraging this effect using real-time phase-tuned tACS has not been feasible so far due to stimulation artifacts preventing continuous phase tracking. OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESIS We aimed to develop a system that tracks and adapts the phase lag between tACS and ongoing parietooccipital alpha oscillations in real-time. We hypothesized that such real-time phase-tuned tACS enhances working memory performance, depending on the phase lag. METHODS We developed real-time phase-tuned closed-loop amplitude-modulated tACS (CLAM-tACS) targeting parietooccipital alpha oscillations. CLAM-tACS was applied at six different phase lags relative to ongoing alpha oscillations while participants (N = 21) performed a working memory task. To exclude that behavioral effects of CLAM-tACS were mediated by other factors such as sensory co-stimulation, a second group of participants (N = 25) received equivalent stimulation of the forehead. RESULTS WM accuracy improved in a phase lag dependent manner (p = 0.0350) in the group receiving parietooccipital stimulation, with the strongest enhancement observed at 330° phase lag between tACS and ongoing alpha oscillations (p = 0.00273, d = 0.976). Moreover, across participants, modulation of frontoparietal alpha oscillations correlated both in amplitude (p = 0.0248) and phase (p = 0.0270) with the modulation of WM accuracy. No such effects were observed in the control group receiving frontal stimulation. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of real-time phase-tuned CLAM-tACS in modulating both brain activity and behavior, thereby paving the way for further investigation into brain-behavior relationships and the exploration of innovative therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Haslacher
- Clinical Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alessia Cavallo
- Clinical Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology and Experimental Neurology, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Philipp Reber
- Clinical Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Anna Kattein
- Clinical Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Moritz Thiele
- Clinical Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Khaled Nasr
- Clinical Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kimia Hashemi
- Clinical Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rodika Sokoliuk
- Clinical Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gregor Thut
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Surjo R Soekadar
- Clinical Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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Jiang Z, An X, Liu S, Yin E, Yan Y, Ming D. Beyond alpha band: prestimulus local oscillation and interregional synchrony of the beta band shape the temporal perception of the audiovisual beep-flash stimulus. J Neural Eng 2024; 21:036035. [PMID: 37419108 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ace551] [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: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Objective.Multisensory integration is more likely to occur if the multimodal inputs are within a narrow temporal window called temporal binding window (TBW). Prestimulus local neural oscillations and interregional synchrony within sensory areas can modulate cross-modal integration. Previous work has examined the role of ongoing neural oscillations in audiovisual temporal integration, but there is no unified conclusion. This study aimed to explore whether local ongoing neural oscillations and interregional audiovisual synchrony modulate audiovisual temporal integration.Approach.The human participants performed a simultaneity judgment (SJ) task with the beep-flash stimuli while recording electroencephalography. We focused on two stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) conditions where subjects report ∼50% proportion of synchronous responses in auditory- and visual-leading SOA (A50V and V50A).Main results.We found that the alpha band power is larger in synchronous response in the central-right posterior and posterior sensors in A50V and V50A conditions, respectively. The results suggested that the alpha band power reflects neuronal excitability in the auditory or visual cortex, which can modulate audiovisual temporal perception depending on the leading sense. Additionally, the SJs were modulated by the opposite phases of alpha (5-10 Hz) and low beta (14-20 Hz) bands in the A50V condition while the low beta band (14-18 Hz) in the V50A condition. One cycle of alpha or two cycles of beta oscillations matched an auditory-leading TBW of ∼86 ms, while two cycles of beta oscillations matched a visual-leading TBW of ∼105 ms. This result indicated the opposite phases in the alpha and beta bands reflect opposite cortical excitability, which modulated the audiovisual SJs. Finally, we found stronger high beta (21-28 Hz) audiovisual phase synchronization for synchronous response in the A50V condition. The phase synchrony of the beta band might be related to maintaining information flow between visual and auditory regions in a top-down manner.Significance.These results clarified whether and how the prestimulus brain state, including local neural oscillations and functional connectivity between brain regions, affects audiovisual temporal integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeliang Jiang
- Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Xingwei An
- Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuang Liu
- Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Erwei Yin
- Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
- Defense Innovation Institute, Academy of Military Sciences (AMS), 100071 Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Tianjin Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center (TAIIC), 300457 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Ye Yan
- Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
- Defense Innovation Institute, Academy of Military Sciences (AMS), 100071 Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Tianjin Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center (TAIIC), 300457 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Dong Ming
- Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, People's Republic of China
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Williams JG, Harrison WJ, Beale HA, Mattingley JB, Harris AM. Effects of neural oscillation power and phase on discrimination performance in a visual tilt illusion. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1801-1809.e4. [PMID: 38569544 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.014] [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: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Neural oscillations reflect fluctuations in the relative excitation/inhibition of neural systems1,2,3,4,5 and are theorized to play a critical role in canonical neural computations6,7,8,9 and cognitive processes.10,11,12,13,14 These theories have been supported by findings that detection of visual stimuli fluctuates with the phase of oscillations prior to stimulus onset.15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23 However, null results have emerged in studies seeking to demonstrate these effects in visual discrimination tasks,24,25,26,27 raising questions about the generalizability of these phenomena to wider neural processes. Recently, we suggested that methodological limitations may mask effects of phase in higher-level sensory processing.28 To test the generality of phasic influences on perception requires a task that involves stimulus discrimination while also depending on early sensory processing. Here, we examined the influence of oscillation phase on the visual tilt illusion, in which a center grating has its perceived orientation biased away from the orientation of a surround grating29 due to lateral inhibitory interactions in early visual processing.30,31,32 We presented center gratings at participants' subjective vertical angle and had participants report whether the grating appeared tilted clockwise or counterclockwise from vertical on each trial while measuring their brain activity with electroencephalography (EEG). In addition to effects of alpha power and aperiodic slope, we observed robust associations between orientation perception and alpha and theta phase, consistent with fluctuating illusion magnitude across the oscillatory cycle. These results confirm that oscillation phase affects the complex processing involved in stimulus discrimination, consistent with its purported role in canonical computations that underpin cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica G Williams
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Building 79, Upland Road, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, McElwain Building, Campbell Road, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - William J Harrison
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Building 79, Upland Road, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, McElwain Building, Campbell Road, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, QLD 4556, Australia
| | - Henry A Beale
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Building 79, Upland Road, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jason B Mattingley
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Building 79, Upland Road, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, McElwain Building, Campbell Road, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), MaRS Centre, West Tower, 661 University Ave., Suite 505, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Anthony M Harris
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Building 79, Upland Road, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Aharoni M, Breska A, Müller MM, Schröger E. Mechanisms of sustained perceptual entrainment after stimulus offset. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:1047-1060. [PMID: 37150801 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Temporal alignment of neural activity to rhythmic stimulation has been suggested to result from a resonating internal neural oscillator mechanism, but can also be explained by interval-based temporal prediction. Here, we investigate behavioural and brain responses in the post-stimulation period to compare an oscillatory versus an interval-based account. Hickok et al.'s (2015) behavioural paradigm yielded results that relate to a neural oscillatory entrainment mechanism. We adapted the paradigm to an event-related potential (ERP) suitable design: a periodic sequence was followed, in half of the trials, by near-threshold targets embedded in noise. The targets were played in various phases in relation to the preceding sequences' period. Participants had to detect whether targets were played or not, and their EEG was recorded. Both behavioural results and the P300 component of the ERP were not only partially consistent with an oscillatory mechanism but also partially consistent with an interval-based attentional gain mechanism. Instead, data obtained in the post-entrainment period can best be explained with a combination of both mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moran Aharoni
- Edmund and Lilly Safra Center for Brain Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Assaf Breska
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Matthias M Müller
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Erich Schröger
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
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Cabral-Calderin Y, van Hinsberg D, Thielscher A, Henry MJ. Behavioral entrainment to rhythmic auditory stimulation can be modulated by tACS depending on the electrical stimulation field properties. eLife 2024; 12:RP87820. [PMID: 38289225 PMCID: PMC10945705 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Synchronization between auditory stimuli and brain rhythms is beneficial for perception. In principle, auditory perception could be improved by facilitating neural entrainment to sounds via brain stimulation. However, high inter-individual variability of brain stimulation effects questions the usefulness of this approach. Here we aimed to modulate auditory perception by modulating neural entrainment to frequency modulated (FM) sounds using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). In addition, we evaluated the advantage of using tACS montages spatially optimized for each individual's anatomy and functional data compared to a standard montage applied to all participants. Across two different sessions, 2 Hz tACS was applied targeting auditory brain regions. Concurrent with tACS, participants listened to FM stimuli with modulation rate matching the tACS frequency but with different phase lags relative to the tACS, and detected silent gaps embedded in the FM sound. We observed that tACS modulated the strength of behavioral entrainment to the FM sound in a phase-lag specific manner. Both the optimal tACS lag and the magnitude of the tACS effect were variable across participants and sessions. Inter-individual variability of tACS effects was best explained by the strength of the inward electric field, depending on the field focality and proximity to the target brain region. Although additional evidence is necessary, our results also provided suggestive insights that spatially optimizing the electrode montage could be a promising tool to reduce inter-individual variability of tACS effects. This work demonstrates that tACS effectively modulates entrainment to sounds depending on the optimality of the electric field. However, the lack of reliability on optimal tACS lags calls for caution when planning tACS experiments based on separate sessions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Axel Thielscher
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Amager and HvidovreCopenhagenDenmark
- Section for Magnetic Resonance, DTU Health Tech, Technical University of DenmarkCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Molly J Henry
- Max Planck Institute for Empirical AestheticsFrankfurtGermany
- Toronto Metropolitan UniversityTorontoCanada
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Vogeti S, Faramarzi M, Herrmann CS. Alpha transcranial alternating current stimulation modulates auditory perception. Brain Stimul 2023; 16:1646-1652. [PMID: 37949295 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2023.11.002] [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: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a type of non-invasive brain stimulation, have demonstrated a relationship between the positive versus negative phase of both alpha and delta/theta oscillations with variable near-threshold auditory perception. These findings have not been directly compared before. Furthermore, as perception was better in the positive versus negative phase of two different frequencies, it is unclear whether changes in polarity (independent of a specific frequency) could also modulate auditory perception. OBJECTIVE We investigated whether auditory perception depends on the phase of alpha, delta/theta, or polarity alone. METHODS We stimulated participants with alpha, delta, and positive and negative direct current (DC) over temporal and central scalp sites while they identified near-threshold tones-in-noise. A Sham condition without tACS served as a control condition. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to assess differences in proportions of hits between conditions and polarities. Permutation-based circular-logistic regressions were used to assess the relationship between circular-predictors and single-trial behavioral responses. An exploratory analysis compared the full circular-logistic regression model to the intercept-only model. RESULTS Overall, there were a greater proportion of hits in the Alpha condition in comparison to Delta, DC, and Sham conditions. We also found an interaction between polarity and stimulation condition; post-hoc analyses revealed a greater proportion of hits in the positive versus negative phase of Alpha tACS. In contrast, no significant differences were found in the Delta, DC, or Sham conditions. The permutation-based circular-logistic regressions did not reveal a statistically significant difference between the obtained RMS of the sine and cosine coefficients and the mean of the surrogate distribution for any of the conditions. However, our exploratory analysis revealed that circular-predictors explained the behavioral data significantly better than an intercept-only model for the Alpha condition, and not the other three conditions. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that alpha tACS, and not delta nor polarity alone, modulates auditory perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sreekari Vogeti
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, European Medical School, Cluster for Excellence "Hearing for All", Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Maryam Faramarzi
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, European Medical School, Cluster for Excellence "Hearing for All", Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Christoph S Herrmann
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, European Medical School, Cluster for Excellence "Hearing for All", Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany; Neuroimaging Unit, European Medical School, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany; Research Center Neurosensory Science, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany.
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Mentzelopoulos G, Driscoll N, Shankar S, Kim B, Rich R, Fernandez-Nunez G, Stoll H, Erickson B, Medaglia JD, Vitale F. Alerting attention is sufficient to induce a phase-dependent behavior that can be predicted by frontal EEG. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1176865. [PMID: 37292166 PMCID: PMC10246752 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1176865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that attention is rhythmic. Whether that rhythmicity can be explained by the phase of ongoing neural oscillations, however, is still debated. We contemplate that a step toward untangling the relationship between attention and phase stems from employing simple behavioral tasks that isolate attention from other cognitive functions (perception/decision-making) and by localized monitoring of neural activity with high spatiotemporal resolution over the brain regions associated with the attentional network. In this study, we investigated whether the phase of electroencephalography (EEG) oscillations predicts alerting attention. We isolated the alerting mechanism of attention using the Psychomotor Vigilance Task, which does not involve a perceptual component, and collected high resolution EEG using novel high-density dry EEG arrays at the frontal region of the scalp. We identified that alerting attention alone is sufficient to induce a phase-dependent modulation of behavior at EEG frequencies of 3, 6, and 8 Hz throughout the frontal region, and we quantified the phase that predicts the high and low attention states in our cohort. Our findings disambiguate the relationship between EEG phase and alerting attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Mentzelopoulos
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Nicolette Driscoll
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Sneha Shankar
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Brian Kim
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Ryan Rich
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | | | - Harrison Stoll
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Brian Erickson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - John Dominic Medaglia
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neurology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Flavia Vitale
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Lui TKY, Obleser J, Wöstmann M. Slow neural oscillations explain temporal fluctuations in distractibility. Prog Neurobiol 2023; 226:102458. [PMID: 37088261 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102458] [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: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
Human environments comprise various sources of distraction, which often occur unexpectedly in time. The proneness to distraction (i.e., distractibility) is posited to be independent of attentional sampling of targets, but its temporal dynamics and neurobiological basis are largely unknown. Brain oscillations in the theta band (3 - 8Hz) have been associated with fluctuating neural excitability, which is hypothesised here to explain rhythmic modulation of distractibility. In a pitch discrimination task (N = 30) with unexpected auditory distractors, we show that distractor-evoked neural responses in the electroencephalogram and perceptual susceptibility to distraction were co-modulated and cycled approximately 3 - 5 times per second. Pre-distractor neural phase in left inferior frontal and insular cortex regions explained fluctuating distractibility. Thus, human distractibility is not constant but fluctuates on a subsecond timescale. Furthermore, slow neural oscillations subserve the behavioural consequences of a hitherto largely unexplained but ever-increasing phenomenon in modern environments - distraction by unexpected sound.
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Affiliation(s)
- Troby Ka-Yan Lui
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Malte Wöstmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany.
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Saberi K, Hickok G. Confirming an antiphasic bicyclic pattern of forward entrainment in signal detection: A reanalysis of Sun et al. (2021). Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:5274-5286. [PMID: 36057434 PMCID: PMC9826078 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Forward entrainment refers to that part of the entrainment process that persists after termination of an entraining stimulus. Hickok et al. (2015) reported forward entrainment in signal detection that lasted for two post-stimulus cycles. In a recent paper, Sun et al. (2021) reported new data which suggested an absence of entrainment effects (Eur. J. Neurosci, 1-18, doi.org/10.1111/ejn.15367). Here we show that when Sun et al.'s data are analysed using unbiased detection-theoretic measures, a clear antiphasic bicyclic pattern of entrainment is observed. We further show that the measure of entrainment strength used by Sun et al., the normalized Fourier transform of performance curves, is not only erroneously calculated but is also unreliable in estimating entrainment strength due to signal-processing artifacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kourosh Saberi
- Department of Cognitive SciencesUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
| | - Gregory Hickok
- Department of Cognitive SciencesUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA,Department of Language ScienceUniversity of California, IrvineIrvineCaliforniaUSA
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Tosato T, Rohenkohl G, Dowdall JR, Fries P. Quantifying rhythmicity in perceptual reports. Neuroimage 2022; 262:119561. [PMID: 35973565 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 07/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Several recent studies investigated the rhythmic nature of cognitive processes that lead to perception and behavioral report. These studies used different methods, and there has not yet been an agreement on a general standard. Here, we present a way to test and quantitatively compare these methods. We simulated behavioral data from a typical experiment and analyzed these data with several methods. We applied the main methods found in the literature, namely sine-wave fitting, the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and the least square spectrum (LSS). DFT and LSS can be applied both on the average accuracy time course and on single trials. LSS is mathematically equivalent to DFT in the case of regular, but not irregular sampling - which is more common. LSS additionally offers the possibility to take into account a weighting factor which affects the strength of the rhythm, such as arousal. Statistical inferences were done either on the investigated sample (fixed-effects) or on the population (random-effects) of simulated participants. Multiple comparisons across frequencies were corrected using False Discovery Rate, Bonferroni, or the Max-Based approach. To perform a quantitative comparison, we calculated sensitivity, specificity and D-prime of the investigated analysis methods and statistical approaches. Within the investigated parameter range, single-trial methods had higher sensitivity and D-prime than the methods based on the average accuracy time course. This effect was further increased for a simulated rhythm of higher frequency. If an additional (observable) factor influenced detection performance, adding this factor as weight in the LSS further improved sensitivity and D-prime. For multiple comparison correction, the Max-Based approach provided the highest specificity and D-prime, closely followed by the Bonferroni approach. Given a fixed total amount of trials, the random-effects approach had higher D-prime when trials were distributed over a larger number of participants, even though this gave less trials per participant. Finally, we present the idea of using a dampened sinusoidal oscillator instead of a simple sinusoidal function, to further improve the fit to behavioral rhythmicity observed after a reset event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Tosato
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Deutschordenstraße 46, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - Gustavo Rohenkohl
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Deutschordenstraße 46, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany; Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Jarrod Robert Dowdall
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Deutschordenstraße 46, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany; Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Pascal Fries
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Deutschordenstraße 46, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
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Nieuwhof F, Toni I, Buijink AW, van Rootselaar AF, van de Warrenburg BP, Helmich RC. Phase-locked transcranial electrical brain stimulation for tremor suppression in dystonic tremor syndromes. Clin Neurophysiol 2022; 140:239-250. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2022.03.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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12
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Fiene M, Radecke JO, Misselhorn J, Sengelmann M, Herrmann CS, Schneider TR, Schwab BC, Engel AK. tACS phase-specifically biases brightness perception of flickering light. Brain Stimul 2022; 15:244-253. [PMID: 34990876 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2022.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visual phenomena like brightness illusions impressively demonstrate the highly constructive nature of perception. In addition to physical illumination, the subjective experience of brightness is related to temporal neural dynamics in visual cortex. OBJECTIVE Here, we asked whether biasing the temporal pattern of neural excitability in visual cortex by transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) modulates brightness perception of concurrent rhythmic visual stimuli. METHODS Participants performed a brightness discrimination task of two flickering lights, one of which was targeted by same-frequency electrical stimulation at varying phase shifts. tACS was applied with an occipital and a periorbital active control montage, based on simulations of electrical currents using finite element head models. RESULTS Experimental results reveal that flicker brightness perception is modulated dependent on the phase shift between sensory and electrical stimulation, solely under occipital tACS. Phase-specific modulatory effects by tACS were dependent on flicker-evoked neural phase stability at the tACS-targeted frequency, recorded prior to electrical stimulation. Further, the optimal timing of tACS application leading to enhanced brightness perception was correlated with the neural phase delay of the cortical flicker response. CONCLUSIONS Our results corroborate the role of temporally coordinated neural activity in visual cortex for brightness perception of rhythmic visual input in humans. Phase-specific behavioral modulations by tACS emphasize its efficacy to transfer perceptually relevant temporal information to the cortex. These findings provide an important step towards understanding the basis of visual perception and further confirm electrical stimulation as a tool for advancing controlled modulations of neural activity and related behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Fiene
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, 20246, Germany.
| | - Jan-Ole Radecke
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, 20246, Germany
| | - Jonas Misselhorn
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, 20246, Germany
| | - Malte Sengelmann
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, 20246, Germany
| | - Christoph S Herrmann
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all", European Medical School, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, 26129, Germany; Research Center Neurosensory Science, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, 26129, Germany
| | - Till R Schneider
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, 20246, Germany
| | - Bettina C Schwab
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, 20246, Germany
| | - Andreas K Engel
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, 20246, Germany
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13
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Geffen A, Bland N, Sale MV. Effects of Slow Oscillatory Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Motor Cortical Excitability Assessed by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:726604. [PMID: 34588969 PMCID: PMC8473706 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.726604] [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: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Converging evidence suggests that transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) may entrain endogenous neural oscillations to match the frequency and phase of the exogenously applied current and this entrainment may outlast the stimulation (although only for a few oscillatory cycles following the cessation of stimulation). However, observing entrainment in the electroencephalograph (EEG) during stimulation is extremely difficult due to the presence of complex tACS artifacts. The present study assessed entrainment to slow oscillatory (SO) tACS by measuring motor cortical excitability across different oscillatory phases during (i.e., online) and outlasting (i.e., offline) stimulation. 30 healthy participants received 60 trials of intermittent SO tACS (0.75 Hz; 16 s on/off interleaved) at an intensity of 2 mA peak-to-peak. Motor cortical excitability was assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the hand region of the primary motor cortex (M1HAND) to induce motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in the contralateral thumb. MEPs were acquired at four time-points within each trial – early online, late online, early offline, and late offline – as well as at the start and end of the overall stimulation period (to probe longer-lasting aftereffects of tACS). A significant increase in MEP amplitude was observed from pre- to post-tACS (paired-sample t-test; t29 = 2.64, P = 0.013, d = 0.48) and from the first to the last tACS block (t29 = −2.93, P = 0.02, d = 0.54). However, no phase-dependent modulation of excitability was observed. Therefore, although SO tACS had a facilitatory effect on motor cortical excitability that outlasted stimulation, there was no evidence supporting entrainment of endogenous oscillations as the underlying mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asher Geffen
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Nicholas Bland
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.,Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.,School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Martin V Sale
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.,Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
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14
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Henke L, Meyer L. Endogenous Oscillations Time-Constrain Linguistic Segmentation: Cycling the Garden Path. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:4289-4299. [PMID: 33949654 PMCID: PMC8328215 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Speech is transient. To comprehend entire sentences, segments consisting of multiple words need to be memorized for at least a while. However, it has been noted previously that we struggle to memorize segments longer than approximately 2.7 s. We hypothesized that electrophysiological processing cycles within the delta band (<4 Hz) underlie this time constraint. Participants’ EEG was recorded while they listened to temporarily ambiguous sentences. By manipulating the speech rate, we aimed at biasing participants’ interpretation: At a slow rate, segmentation after 2.7 s would trigger a correct interpretation. In contrast, at a fast rate, segmentation after 2.7 s would trigger a wrong interpretation and thus an error later in the sentence. In line with the suggested time constraint, the phase of the delta-band oscillation at the critical point in the sentence mirrored segmentation on the level of single trials, as indicated by the amplitude of the P600 event-related brain potential (ERP) later in the sentence. The correlation between upstream delta-band phase and downstream P600 amplitude implies that segmentation took place when an underlying neural oscillator had reached a specific angle within its cycle, determining comprehension. We conclude that delta-band oscillations set an endogenous time constraint on segmentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Henke
- Research Group Language Cycles, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lars Meyer
- Research Group Language Cycles, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Clinic for Phoniatrics and Pedaudiology, University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
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15
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Barne LC, Cravo AM, de Lange FP, Spaak E. Temporal prediction elicits rhythmic preactivation of relevant sensory cortices. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:3324-3339. [PMID: 34322927 PMCID: PMC9545120 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15405] [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: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 07/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Being able to anticipate events before they happen facilitates stimulus processing. The anticipation of the contents of events is thought to be implemented by the elicitation of prestimulus templates in sensory cortex. In contrast, the anticipation of the timing of events is typically associated with entrainment of neural oscillations. It is so far unknown whether and in which conditions temporal expectations interact with feature‐based expectations, and, consequently, whether entrainment modulates the generation of content‐specific sensory templates. In this study, we investigated the role of temporal expectations in a sensory discrimination task. We presented participants with rhythmically interleaved visual and auditory streams of relevant and irrelevant stimuli while measuring neural activity using magnetoencephalography. We found no evidence that rhythmic stimulation induced prestimulus feature templates. However, we did observe clear anticipatory rhythmic preactivation of the relevant sensory cortices. This oscillatory activity peaked at behaviourally relevant, in‐phase, intervals. Our results suggest that temporal expectations about stimulus features do not behave similarly to explicitly cued, nonrhythmic, expectations, yet elicit a distinct form of modality‐specific preactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Catheryne Barne
- Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paolo, Brazil.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Département Traitement de l'Information et Systèmes, ONERA, Salon-de-Provence, France
| | - André Mascioli Cravo
- Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paolo, Brazil
| | - Floris P de Lange
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Eelke Spaak
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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16
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Stecher HI, Notbohm A, Kasten FH, Herrmann CS. A Comparison of Closed Loop vs. Fixed Frequency tACS on Modulating Brain Oscillations and Visual Detection. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:661432. [PMID: 34248524 PMCID: PMC8261289 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.661432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcranial alternating current stimulation has emerged as an effective tool for the exploration of brain oscillations. By applying a weak alternating current between electrodes placed on the scalp matched to the endogenous frequency, tACS enables the specific modulation of targeted brain oscillations This results in alterations in cognitive functions or persistent physiological changes. Most studies that utilize tACS determine a fixed stimulation frequency prior to the stimulation that is kept constant throughout the experiment. Yet it is known that brain rhythms can encounter shifts in their endogenous frequency. This could potentially move the ongoing brain oscillations into a frequency region where it is no longer affected by the stimulation, thereby decreasing or negating the effect of tACS. Such an effect of a mismatch between stimulation frequency and endogenous frequency on the outcome of stimulation has been shown before for the parietal alpha-activity. In this study, we employed an intermittent closed loop stimulation protocol, where the stimulation is divided into short epochs, between which an EEG is recorded and rapidly analyzed to determine a new stimulation frequency for the next stimulation epoch. This stimulation protocol was tested in a three-group study against a classical fixed stimulation protocol and a sham-treatment. We targeted the parietal alpha rhythm and hypothesized that this setup will ensure a constant close match between the frequencies of tACS and alpha activity. This closer match should lead to an increased modulation of detection of visual luminance changes depending on the phase of the tACS and an increased rise in alpha peak power post stimulation when compared to a protocol with fixed pre-determined stimulation frequency. Contrary to our hypothesis, our results show that only a fixed stimulation protocol leads to a persistent increase in post-stimulation alpha power as compared to sham. Furthermore, in none of the stimulated groups significant modulation of detection performance occurred. While the lack of behavioral effects is inconclusive due to the short selection of different phase bins and trials, the physiological results suggest that a constant stimulation with a fixed frequency is actually beneficial, when the goal is to produce persistent synaptic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heiko I Stecher
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, European Medical School, Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all", Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Annika Notbohm
- Department of Neurological Rehabilitation, Municipal Hospital of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Florian H Kasten
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, European Medical School, Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all", Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Christoph S Herrmann
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, European Medical School, Cluster of Excellence "Hearing4all", Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany.,Research Center Neurosensory Science, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
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17
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van der Werf OJ, Ten Oever S, Schuhmann T, Sack AT. No evidence of rhythmic visuospatial attention at cued locations in a spatial cuing paradigm, regardless of their behavioural relevance. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:3100-3116. [PMID: 34131983 PMCID: PMC9542203 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that visuospatial attentional performance is not stable over time but fluctuates in a rhythmic fashion. These attentional rhythms allow for sampling of different visuospatial locations in each cycle of this rhythm. However, it is still unclear in which paradigmatic circumstances rhythmic attention becomes evident. First, it is unclear at what spatial locations rhythmic attention occurs. Second, it is unclear how the behavioural relevance of each spatial location determines the rhythmic sampling patterns. Here, we aim to elucidate these two issues. Firstly, we aim to find evidence of rhythmic attention at the predicted (i.e. cued) location under moderately informative predictor value, replicating earlier studies. Secondly, we hypothesise that rhythmic attentional sampling behaviour will be affected by the behavioural relevance of the sampled location, ranging from non-informative to fully informative. To these aims, we used a modified Egly-Driver task with three conditions: a fully informative cue, a moderately informative cue (replication condition), and a non-informative cue. We did not find evidence of rhythmic sampling at cued locations, failing to replicate earlier studies. Nor did we find differences in rhythmic sampling under different predictive values of the cue. The current data does not allow for robust conclusions regarding the non-cued locations due to the absence of a priori hypotheses. Post-hoc explorative data analyses, however, clearly indicate that attention samples non-cued locations in a theta-rhythmic manner, specifically when the cued location bears higher behavioural relevance than the non-cued locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olof J van der Werf
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre (MBIC), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Sanne Ten Oever
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Language and Computation in Neural Systems group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Teresa Schuhmann
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre (MBIC), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander T Sack
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre (MBIC), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Brain and Nerve Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre+ (MUMC+), Maastricht, The Netherlands
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18
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Wolpert N, Tallon-Baudry C. Coupling between the phase of a neural oscillation or bodily rhythm with behavior: Evaluation of different statistical procedures. Neuroimage 2021; 236:118050. [PMID: 33848619 PMCID: PMC8270889 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Circular tests are differentially sensitive to different coupling modes. The Watson test is a good all-rounder method. Phase Opposition Sum is robust to imbalances in relative trial number. Modulation Index detects more complex phase-behavior relationships.
Growing experimental evidence points at relationships between the phase of a cortical or bodily oscillation and behavior, using various circular statistical tests. Here, we systematically compare the performance (sensitivity, False Positive rate) of four circular statistical tests (some commonly used, i.e. Phase Opposition Sum, Circular Logistic Regression, others less common, i.e., Watson test, Modulation Index). We created semi-artificial datasets mimicking real two-alternative forced choice experiments with 30 participants, where we imposed a link between a simulated binary behavioral outcome with the phase of a physiological oscillation. We systematically varied the strength of phase-outcome coupling, the coupling mode (1:1 to 4:1), the overall number of trials and the relative number of trials in the two outcome conditions. We evaluated different strategies to estimate phase-outcome coupling chance level, as well as significance at the individual or group level. The results show that the Watson test, although seldom used in the experimental literature, is an excellent first intention test, with a good sensitivity and low False Positive rate, some sensitivity to 2:1 coupling mode and low computational load. Modulation Index, initially designed for continuous variables but that we find useful to estimate coupling between phase and a binary outcome, should be preferred if coupling mode is higher than 2:1. Phase Opposition Sum, coupled with a resampling procedure, is the only test retaining a good sensitivity in the case of a large unbalance in the number of occurrences of the two behavioral outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolai Wolpert
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Inserm u960, PSL University, 24 rue Lhomond, Paris 75005, France.
| | - Catherine Tallon-Baudry
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Inserm u960, PSL University, 24 rue Lhomond, Paris 75005, France
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19
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Michail G, Toran Jenner L, Keil J. Prestimulus alpha power but not phase influences visual discrimination of long‐duration visual stimuli. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:3141-3153. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Michail
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Multisensory Integration Lab Charité ‐ Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin Germany
| | | | - Julian Keil
- Biological Psychology Christian‐Albrechts‐University Kiel Germany
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20
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Cruzat J, Torralba M, Ruzzoli M, Fernández A, Deco G, Soto-Faraco S. The phase of Theta oscillations modulates successful memory formation at encoding. Neuropsychologia 2021; 154:107775. [PMID: 33592222 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Several studies have shown that attention and perception can depend upon the phase of ongoing neural oscillations at stimulus onset. Here, we extend this idea to the memory domain. We tested the hypothesis that ongoing fluctuations in neural activity impact memory encoding in two experiments using a picture paired-associates task in order to gauge episodic memory performance. Experiment 1 was behavioural only and capitalized on the principle of phase resetting. We tested if subsequent memory performance fluctuates rhythmically, time-locked to a resetting cue presented before the to-be-remembered pairs at different time intervals. We found an indication that behavioural performance was periodically and selectively modulated at Theta frequency (~4 Hz). In Experiment 2, we focused on pre-stimulus ongoing activity using scalp EEG while participants performed a paired-associates task. The pre-registered analysis, using large electrode clusters and generic Theta and Alpha spectral ranges, returned null results of the pre-stimulus phase-behaviour correlation. However, as expected from prior literature, we found that variations in stimulus-related Theta-power predicted subsequent memory performance. Therefore, we used this post-stimulus effect in Theta power to guide a post-hoc pre-stimulus phase analysis in terms of scalp and frequency of interest. This analysis returned a correlation between the pre-stimulus Theta phase and subsequent memory. Altogether, these results suggest that pre-stimulus Theta activity at encoding may impact later memory performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine Cruzat
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Roc Boronat 138, Barcelona, 08018, Spain.
| | - Mireia Torralba
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Roc Boronat 138, Barcelona, 08018, Spain
| | - Manuela Ruzzoli
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, UK
| | - Alba Fernández
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Roc Boronat 138, Barcelona, 08018, Spain
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Roc Boronat 138, Barcelona, 08018, Spain; Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain; Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103, Leipzig, Germany; School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Salvador Soto-Faraco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Roc Boronat 138, Barcelona, 08018, Spain; Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain
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21
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Zhang M, Amon A, Hanssen S, Wu M, Bonte M, Riecke L. No evidence for modulation of sound rise-time perception by 4-Hz brain oscillations. Brain Stimul 2021; 14:364-365. [PMID: 33581282 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2021.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Manli Zhang
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 EV, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Anita Amon
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 EV, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Saskia Hanssen
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 EV, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, 6229 EV, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Min Wu
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 EV, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Milene Bonte
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 EV, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Lars Riecke
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 EV, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
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22
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van Bree S, Sohoglu E, Davis MH, Zoefel B. Sustained neural rhythms reveal endogenous oscillations supporting speech perception. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001142. [PMID: 33635855 PMCID: PMC7946281 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhythmic sensory or electrical stimulation will produce rhythmic brain responses. These rhythmic responses are often interpreted as endogenous neural oscillations aligned (or "entrained") to the stimulus rhythm. However, stimulus-aligned brain responses can also be explained as a sequence of evoked responses, which only appear regular due to the rhythmicity of the stimulus, without necessarily involving underlying neural oscillations. To distinguish evoked responses from true oscillatory activity, we tested whether rhythmic stimulation produces oscillatory responses which continue after the end of the stimulus. Such sustained effects provide evidence for true involvement of neural oscillations. In Experiment 1, we found that rhythmic intelligible, but not unintelligible speech produces oscillatory responses in magnetoencephalography (MEG) which outlast the stimulus at parietal sensors. In Experiment 2, we found that transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) leads to rhythmic fluctuations in speech perception outcomes after the end of electrical stimulation. We further report that the phase relation between electroencephalography (EEG) responses and rhythmic intelligible speech can predict the tACS phase that leads to most accurate speech perception. Together, we provide fundamental results for several lines of research-including neural entrainment and tACS-and reveal endogenous neural oscillations as a key underlying principle for speech perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sander van Bree
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Ediz Sohoglu
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew H. Davis
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Benedikt Zoefel
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, CNRS, Toulouse, France
- Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
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23
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Assaneo MF, Rimmele JM, Sanz Perl Y, Poeppel D. Speaking rhythmically can shape hearing. Nat Hum Behav 2021; 5:71-82. [PMID: 33046860 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-00962-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Evidence suggests that temporal predictions arising from the motor system can enhance auditory perception. However, in speech perception, we lack evidence of perception being modulated by production. Here we show a behavioural protocol that captures the existence of such auditory-motor interactions. Participants performed a syllable discrimination task immediately after producing periodic syllable sequences. Two speech rates were explored: a 'natural' (individually preferred) and a fixed 'non-natural' (2 Hz) rate. Using a decoding approach, we show that perceptual performance is modulated by the stimulus phase determined by a participant's own motor rhythm. Remarkably, for 'natural' and 'non-natural' rates, this finding is restricted to a subgroup of the population with quantifiable auditory-motor coupling. The observed pattern is compatible with a neural model assuming a bidirectional interaction of auditory and speech motor cortices. Crucially, the model matches the experimental results only if it incorporates individual differences in the strength of the auditory-motor connection.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Florencia Assaneo
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA. .,Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico.
| | - Johanna M Rimmele
- Department of Neuroscience, Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Yonatan Sanz Perl
- Department of Physics, FCEyN, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,University of San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - David Poeppel
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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24
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Auditory detection is modulated by theta phase of silent lip movements. CURRENT RESEARCH IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2021; 2:100014. [PMID: 36246505 PMCID: PMC9559921 DOI: 10.1016/j.crneur.2021.100014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Audiovisual speech perception relies, among other things, on our expertise to map a speaker's lip movements with speech sounds. This multimodal matching is facilitated by salient syllable features that align lip movements and acoustic envelope signals in the 4–8 Hz theta band. Although non-exclusive, the predominance of theta rhythms in speech processing has been firmly established by studies showing that neural oscillations track the acoustic envelope in the primary auditory cortex. Equivalently, theta oscillations in the visual cortex entrain to lip movements, and the auditory cortex is recruited during silent speech perception. These findings suggest that neuronal theta oscillations may play a functional role in organising information flow across visual and auditory sensory areas. We presented silent speech movies while participants performed a pure tone detection task to test whether entrainment to lip movements directs the auditory system and drives behavioural outcomes. We showed that auditory detection varied depending on the ongoing theta phase conveyed by lip movements in the movies. In a complementary experiment presenting the same movies while recording participants' electro-encephalogram (EEG), we found that silent lip movements entrained neural oscillations in the visual and auditory cortices with the visual phase leading the auditory phase. These results support the idea that the visual cortex entrained by lip movements filtered the sensitivity of the auditory cortex via theta phase synchronization. Subjects entrain to visual activity conveyed by speakers' lip movements. Visual entrainment modulates auditory perception and performances. Silent lips perception recruits both visual and auditory cortices. Visual and auditory cortices synchronize via theta phase coupling.
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25
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van der Plas M, Wang D, Brittain JS, Hanslmayr S. Investigating the role of phase-synchrony during encoding of episodic memories using electrical stimulation. Cortex 2020; 133:37-47. [PMID: 33099074 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The multi-sensory nature of episodic memories indicates that communication between a multitude of brain areas is required for their effective creation and recollection. Previous studies have suggested that the effectiveness of memory processes depends on theta synchronization (4 Hz) of sensory areas relevant to the memory. This study aimed to manipulate theta synchronization between different sensory areas in order to further test this hypothesis. We intend to entrain visual cortex with 4 Hz alternating current stimulation (tACS), while simultaneously entraining auditory cortex with 4 Hz amplitude-modulated sounds. By entraining these different sensory areas, which pertain to learned audio-visual memory associations, we expect to find that when theta is synchronized across the different sensory areas, the memory performance would be enhanced compared to when theta is not synchronized across the sensory areas. We found no evidence for such an effect in this study. It is unclear whether this is due to an inability of 4 Hz tACS to entrain the visual cortex reliably, or whether sensory entrainment is not the underlying mechanism required for episodic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mircea van der Plas
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Danying Wang
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - John-Stuart Brittain
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Hanslmayr
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
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26
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Kasten FH, Herrmann CS. Discrete sampling in perception via neuronal oscillations-Evidence from rhythmic, non-invasive brain stimulation. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 55:3402-3417. [PMID: 33048382 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A variety of perceptual phenomena suggest that, in contrast to our everyday experience, our perception may be discrete rather than continuous. The possibility of such discrete sampling processes inevitably prompts the question of how such discretization is implemented in the brain. Evidence from neurophysiological measurements suggest that neural oscillations, particularly in the lower frequencies, may provide a mechanism by which such discretization can be implemented. It is hypothesized that cortical excitability is rhythmically enhanced or reduced along the positive and negative half-cycle of such oscillations. In recent years, rhythmic non-invasive brain stimulation approaches such as rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) are increasingly used to test this hypothesis. Both methods are thought to entrain endogenous brain oscillations, allowing them to alter their power, frequency, and phase in order to study their roles in perception. After a brief introduction to the core mechanisms of both methods, we will provide an overview of rTMS and tACS studies probing the role of brain oscillations for discretized perception in different domains and will contrast these results with unsuccessful attempts. Further, we will discuss methodological pitfalls and challenges associated with the methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian H Kasten
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, Cluster of Excellence "Hearing for All", European Medical School, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany.,Neuroimaging Unit, European Medical School, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Christoph S Herrmann
- Experimental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, Cluster of Excellence "Hearing for All", European Medical School, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany.,Neuroimaging Unit, European Medical School, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany.,Research Center Neurosensory Science, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
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27
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Zrenner C, Galevska D, Nieminen JO, Baur D, Stefanou MI, Ziemann U. The shaky ground truth of real-time phase estimation. Neuroimage 2020; 214:116761. [PMID: 32198050 PMCID: PMC7284312 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Instantaneous phase of brain oscillations in electroencephalography (EEG) is a measure of brain state that is relevant to neuronal processing and modulates evoked responses. However, determining phase at the time of a stimulus with standard signal processing methods is not possible due to the stimulus artifact masking the future part of the signal. Here, we quantify the degree to which signal-to-noise ratio and instantaneous amplitude of the signal affect the variance of phase estimation error and the precision with which "ground truth" phase is even defined, using both the variance of equivalent estimators and realistic simulated EEG data with known synthetic phase. Necessary experimental conditions are specified in which pre-stimulus phase estimation is meaningfully possible based on instantaneous amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio of the oscillation of interest. An open source toolbox is made available for causal (using pre-stimulus signal only) phase estimation along with a EEG dataset consisting of recordings from 140 participants and a best practices workflow for algorithm optimization and benchmarking. As an illustration, post-hoc sorting of open-loop transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) trials according to pre-stimulus sensorimotor μ-rhythm phase is performed to demonstrate modulation of corticospinal excitability, as indexed by the amplitude of motor evoked potentials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Zrenner
- Department of Neurology & Stroke, And Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dragana Galevska
- Department of Neurology & Stroke, And Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jaakko O Nieminen
- Department of Neurology & Stroke, And Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland
| | - David Baur
- Department of Neurology & Stroke, And Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Maria-Ioanna Stefanou
- Department of Neurology & Stroke, And Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ulf Ziemann
- Department of Neurology & Stroke, And Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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28
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Wöstmann M, Lui TKY, Friese KH, Kreitewolf J, Naujokat M, Obleser J. The vulnerability of working memory to distraction is rhythmic. Neuropsychologia 2020; 146:107505. [PMID: 32485200 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Recent research posits that the cognitive system samples target stimuli in a rhythmic fashion, characterized by target detection fluctuating at frequencies of ~3-8 Hz. Besides prioritized encoding of targets, a key cognitive function is the protection of working memory from distractor intrusion. Here, we test to which degree the vulnerability of working memory to distraction is rhythmic. In an Irrelevant-Speech Task, N = 23 human participants had to retain the serial order of nine numbers in working memory while being distracted by task-irrelevant speech with variable temporal onsets. The magnitude of the distractor-evoked N1 component in the event-related potential as well as behavioural recall accuracy, both measures of memory distraction, were periodically modulated by distractor onset time in approximately 2-4 cycles per second (Hz). Critically, an underlying 2.5-Hz rhythm explained variation in both measures of distraction such that stronger phasic distractor encoding mediated lower phasic memory recall accuracy. In a behavioural follow-up experiment, we tested whether these results would replicate in a task design without rhythmic presentation of target items. Participants (N = 6 with on average >2500 trials, each) retained two line-figures in memory while being distracted by acoustic noise of varying onset across trials. In agreement with the main experiment, the temporal onset of the distractor periodically modulated memory performance. These results suggest that during working memory retention, the human cognitive system implements distractor suppression in a temporally dynamic fashion, reflected in ~400-ms long cycles of high versus low distractibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malte Wöstmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
| | | | | | - Jens Kreitewolf
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Malte Naujokat
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
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29
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Battaglini L, Ghiani A, Casco C, Ronconi L. Parietal tACS at beta frequency improves vision in a crowding regime. Neuroimage 2019; 208:116451. [PMID: 31821867 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual crowding is the inability to discriminate objects when presented with nearby flankers and sets a fundamental limit for conscious perception. Beta oscillations in the parietal cortex were found to be associated to crowding, with higher beta amplitude related to better crowding resilience. An open question is whether beta activity directly and selectively modulates crowding. We employed Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) in the beta band (18-Hz), in the alpha band (10-Hz) or in a sham regime, asking whether 18-Hz tACS would selectively improve the perception of crowded stimuli by increasing parietal beta activity. Resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) was measured before and after stimulation to test the influence of tACS on endogenous oscillations. Consistently with our predictions, we found that 18-Hz tACS, as compared to 10-Hz tACS and sham stimulation, reduced crowding. This improvement was found specifically in the contralateral visual hemifield and was accompanied by an increased amplitude of EEG beta oscillations, confirming an effect on endogenous brain rhythms. These results support a causal relationship between parietal beta oscillations and visual crowding and provide new insights into the precise oscillatory mechanisms involved in human vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Battaglini
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy; Neuro.Vis.U.S. Laboratory, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Andrea Ghiani
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
| | - Clara Casco
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy; Neuro.Vis.U.S. Laboratory, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Luca Ronconi
- Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
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30
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Ho HT, Burr DC, Alais D, Morrone MC. Auditory Perceptual History Is Propagated through Alpha Oscillations. Curr Biol 2019; 29:4208-4217.e3. [PMID: 31761705 PMCID: PMC6926473 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Perception is a proactive, “predictive” process, in which the brain relies, at least in part, on accumulated experience to make best guesses about the world to test against sensory data, updating the guesses as new experience is acquired. Using novel behavioral methods, the present study demonstrates the role of alpha rhythms in communicating past perceptual experience. Participants were required to discriminate the ear of origin of brief sinusoidal tones that were presented monaurally at random times within a burst of uncorrelated dichotic white noise masks. Performance was not constant but varied with delay after noise onset in an oscillatory manner at about 9 Hz (alpha rhythm). Importantly, oscillations occurred only for trials preceded by a target tone to the same ear, either on the previous trial or two trials back. These results suggest that communication of perceptual history generates neural oscillations within specific perceptual circuits, strongly implicating behavioral oscillations in predictive perception and with formation of working memory. We demonstrate the role of alpha rhythms in the propagation of perceptual history Auditory decisions were rhythmically biased by stimuli presented 1 or 2 trials back Bias oscillated at ∼9 Hz only when successive stimuli occurred in the same ear Alpha is strongly implicated in predictive perception and working memory formation
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Tam Ho
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Brennan MacCallum Building A18, Manning Road, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia; Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Via San Zeno 31, 56123 Pisa, Italy.
| | - David C Burr
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Brennan MacCallum Building A18, Manning Road, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia; Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, Via di San Salvi 12, 50139 Florence, Italy; Institute of Neuroscience, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
| | - David Alais
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Brennan MacCallum Building A18, Manning Road, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Maria Concetta Morrone
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Via San Zeno 31, 56123 Pisa, Italy
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31
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Preisig BC, Sjerps MJ, Hervais-Adelman A, Kösem A, Hagoort P, Riecke L. Bilateral Gamma/Delta Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Affects Interhemispheric Speech Sound Integration. J Cogn Neurosci 2019; 32:1242-1250. [PMID: 31682569 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Perceiving speech requires the integration of different speech cues, that is, formants. When the speech signal is split so that different cues are presented to the right and left ear (dichotic listening), comprehension requires the integration of binaural information. Based on prior electrophysiological evidence, we hypothesized that the integration of dichotically presented speech cues is enabled by interhemispheric phase synchronization between primary and secondary auditory cortex in the gamma frequency band. We tested this hypothesis by applying transcranial alternating current stimulation (TACS) bilaterally above the superior temporal lobe to induce or disrupt interhemispheric gamma-phase coupling. In contrast to initial predictions, we found that gamma TACS applied in-phase above the two hemispheres (interhemispheric lag 0°) perturbs interhemispheric integration of speech cues, possibly because the applied stimulation perturbs an inherent phase lag between the left and right auditory cortex. We also observed this disruptive effect when applying antiphasic delta TACS (interhemispheric lag 180°). We conclude that interhemispheric phase coupling plays a functional role in interhemispheric speech integration. The direction of this effect may depend on the stimulation frequency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Basil C Preisig
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,University of Zurich
| | - Matthias J Sjerps
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Anne Kösem
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Lyon, France
| | - Peter Hagoort
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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32
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Zoefel B, Allard I, Anil M, Davis MH. Perception of Rhythmic Speech Is Modulated by Focal Bilateral Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation. J Cogn Neurosci 2019; 32:226-240. [PMID: 31659922 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Several recent studies have used transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to demonstrate a causal role of neural oscillatory activity in speech processing. In particular, it has been shown that the ability to understand speech in a multi-speaker scenario or background noise depends on the timing of speech presentation relative to simultaneously applied tACS. However, it is possible that tACS did not change actual speech perception but rather auditory stream segregation. In this study, we tested whether the phase relation between tACS and the rhythm of degraded words, presented in silence, modulates word report accuracy. We found strong evidence for a tACS-induced modulation of speech perception, but only if the stimulation was applied bilaterally using ring electrodes (not for unilateral left hemisphere stimulation with square electrodes). These results were only obtained when data were analyzed using a statistical approach that was identified as optimal in a previous simulation study. The effect was driven by a phasic disruption of word report scores. Our results suggest a causal role of neural entrainment for speech perception and emphasize the importance of optimizing stimulation protocols and statistical approaches for brain stimulation research.
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33
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Bland NS, Sale MV. Current challenges: the ups and downs of tACS. Exp Brain Res 2019; 237:3071-3088. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-019-05666-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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