1
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de la Salle S, Choueiry J, Payumo M, Devlin M, Noel C, Abozmal A, Hyde M, Baysarowich R, Duncan B, Knott V. Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Alters Auditory Steady-State Oscillatory Rhythms and Their Cross-Frequency Couplings. Clin EEG Neurosci 2024; 55:329-339. [PMID: 37306065 PMCID: PMC11020127 DOI: 10.1177/15500594231179679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Auditory cortical plasticity deficits in schizophrenia are evidenced with electroencephalographic (EEG)-derived biomarkers, including the 40-Hz auditory steady-state response (ASSR). Aiming to understand the underlying oscillatory mechanisms contributing to the 40-Hz ASSR, we examined its response to transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) applied bilaterally to the temporal lobe of 23 healthy participants. Although not responding to gamma tACS, the 40-Hz ASSR was modulated by theta tACS (vs sham tACS), with reductions in gamma power and phase locking being accompanied by increases in theta-gamma phase-amplitude cross-frequency coupling. Results reveal that oscillatory changes induced by frequency-tuned tACS may be one approach for targeting and modulating auditory plasticity in normal and diseased brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara de la Salle
- Clinical Neuroelectrophysiology and Cognitive Research, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Joëlle Choueiry
- Clinical Neuroelectrophysiology and Cognitive Research, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Mark Payumo
- School of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Matt Devlin
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Chelsea Noel
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Ali Abozmal
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Molly Hyde
- Clinical Neuroelectrophysiology and Cognitive Research, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Renée Baysarowich
- Clinical Neuroelectrophysiology and Cognitive Research, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Brittany Duncan
- Clinical Neuroelectrophysiology and Cognitive Research, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Verner Knott
- Clinical Neuroelectrophysiology and Cognitive Research, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- School of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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2
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Jensen O. Distractor inhibition by alpha oscillations is controlled by an indirect mechanism governed by goal-relevant information. COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 2:36. [PMID: 38665356 PMCID: PMC11041682 DOI: 10.1038/s44271-024-00081-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
The role of alpha oscillations (8-13 Hz) in cognition is intensively investigated. While intracranial animal recordings demonstrate that alpha oscillations are associated with decreased neuronal excitability, it is been questioned whether alpha oscillations are under direct control from frontoparietal areas to suppress visual distractors. We here point to a revised mechanism in which alpha oscillations are controlled by an indirect mechanism governed by the load of goal-relevant information - a view compatible with perceptual load theory. We will outline how this framework can be further tested and discuss the consequences for network dynamics and resource allocation in the working brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ole Jensen
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B152TT UK
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3
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Wisniewski MG, Joyner CN, Zakrzewski AC, Makeig S. Finding tau rhythms in EEG: An independent component analysis approach. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26572. [PMID: 38339905 PMCID: PMC10823759 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26572] [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: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Tau rhythms are largely defined by sound responsive alpha band (~8-13 Hz) oscillations generated largely within auditory areas of the superior temporal gyri. Studies of tau have mostly employed magnetoencephalography or intracranial recording because of tau's elusiveness in the electroencephalogram. Here, we demonstrate that independent component analysis (ICA) decomposition can be an effective way to identify tau sources and study tau source activities in EEG recordings. Subjects (N = 18) were passively exposed to complex acoustic stimuli while the EEG was recorded from 68 electrodes across the scalp. Subjects' data were split into 60 parallel processing pipelines entailing use of five levels of high-pass filtering (passbands of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 Hz), three levels of low-pass filtering (25, 50, and 100 Hz), and four different ICA algorithms (fastICA, infomax, adaptive mixture ICA [AMICA], and multi-model AMICA [mAMICA]). Tau-related independent component (IC) processes were identified from this data as being localized near the superior temporal gyri with a spectral peak in the 8-13 Hz alpha band. These "tau ICs" showed alpha suppression during sound presentations that was not seen for other commonly observed IC clusters with spectral peaks in the alpha range (e.g., those associated with somatomotor mu, and parietal or occipital alpha). The choice of analysis parameters impacted the likelihood of obtaining tau ICs from an ICA decomposition. Lower cutoff frequencies for high-pass filtering resulted in significantly fewer subjects showing a tau IC than more aggressive high-pass filtering. Decomposition using the fastICA algorithm performed the poorest in this regard, while mAMICA performed best. The best combination of filters and ICA model choice was able to identify at least one tau IC in the data of ~94% of the sample. Altogether, the data reveal close similarities between tau EEG IC dynamics and tau dynamics observed in MEG and intracranial data. Use of relatively aggressive high-pass filters and mAMICA decomposition should allow researchers to identify and characterize tau rhythms in a majority of their subjects. We believe adopting the ICA decomposition approach to EEG analysis can increase the rate and range of discoveries related to auditory responsive tau rhythms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Scott Makeig
- Swartz Center for Computational NeuroscienceUniversity of California San DiegoLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
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4
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Kobayashi K, Shiba Y, Honda S, Nakajima S, Fujii S, Mimura M, Noda Y. Short-Term Effect of Auditory Stimulation on Neural Activities: A Scoping Review of Longitudinal Electroencephalography and Magnetoencephalography Studies. Brain Sci 2024; 14:131. [PMID: 38391706 PMCID: PMC10887208 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14020131] [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: 12/03/2023] [Revised: 12/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Explored through EEG/MEG, auditory stimuli function as a suitable research probe to reveal various neural activities, including event-related potentials, brain oscillations and functional connectivity. Accumulating evidence in this field stems from studies investigating neuroplasticity induced by long-term auditory training, specifically cross-sectional studies comparing musicians and non-musicians as well as longitudinal studies with musicians. In contrast, studies that address the neural effects of short-term interventions whose duration lasts from minutes to hours are only beginning to be featured. Over the past decade, an increasing body of evidence has shown that short-term auditory interventions evoke rapid changes in neural activities, and oscillatory fluctuations can be observed even in the prestimulus period. In this scoping review, we divided the extracted neurophysiological studies into three groups to discuss neural activities with short-term auditory interventions: the pre-stimulus period, during stimulation, and a comparison of before and after stimulation. We show that oscillatory activities vary depending on the context of the stimuli and are greatly affected by the interplay of bottom-up and top-down modulational mechanisms, including attention. We conclude that the observed rapid changes in neural activitiesin the auditory cortex and the higher-order cognitive part of the brain are causally attributed to short-term auditory interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanon Kobayashi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Yasushi Shiba
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
| | - Shiori Honda
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Shinichiro Nakajima
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Shinya Fujii
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Fujisawa 252-0816, Japan
| | - Masaru Mimura
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Noda
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
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5
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Clements GM, Gyurkovics M, Low KA, Kramer AF, Beck DM, Fabiani M, Gratton G. Dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processes. Neuroimage 2023; 270:119956. [PMID: 36863549 PMCID: PMC10037550 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
EEG alpha power varies under many circumstances requiring visual attention. However, mounting evidence indicates that alpha may not only serve visual processing, but also the processing of stimuli presented in other sensory modalities, including hearing. We previously showed that alpha dynamics during an auditory task vary as a function of competition from the visual modality (Clements et al., 2022) suggesting that alpha may be engaged in multimodal processing. Here we assessed the impact of allocating attention to the visual or auditory modality on alpha dynamics at parietal and occipital electrodes, during the preparatory period of a cued-conflict task. In this task, bimodal precues indicated the modality (vision, hearing) relevant to a subsequent reaction stimulus, allowing us to assess alpha during modality-specific preparation and while switching between modalities. Alpha suppression following the precue occurred in all conditions, indicating that it may reflect general preparatory mechanisms. However, we observed a switch effect when preparing to attend to the auditory modality, in which greater alpha suppression was elicited when switching to the auditory modality compared to repeating. No switch effect was evident when preparing to attend to visual information (although robust suppression did occur in both conditions). In addition, waning alpha suppression preceded error trials, irrespective of sensory modality. These findings indicate that alpha can be used to monitor the level of preparatory attention to process both visual and auditory information, and support the emerging view that alpha band activity may index a general attention control mechanism used across modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace M Clements
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA.
| | - Mate Gyurkovics
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Scotland
| | - Kathy A Low
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA
| | - Arthur F Kramer
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Center for Cognitive & Brain Health, Northeastern University, USA
| | - Diane M Beck
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA
| | - Monica Fabiani
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA
| | - Gabriele Gratton
- Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA.
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6
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Foldal MD, Leske S, Blenkmann AO, Endestad T, Solbakk AK. Attentional modulation of beta-power aligns with the timing of behaviorally relevant rhythmic sounds. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:1876-1894. [PMID: 35639957 PMCID: PMC9977362 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
It is largely unknown how attention adapts to the timing of acoustic stimuli. To address this, we investigated how hemispheric lateralization of alpha (7-13 Hz) and beta (14-24 Hz) oscillations, reflecting voluntary allocation of auditory spatial attention, is influenced by tempo and predictability of sounds. We recorded electroencephalography while healthy adults listened to rhythmic sound streams with different tempos that were presented dichotically to separate ears, thus permitting manipulation of spatial-temporal attention. Participants responded to stimulus-onset-asynchrony (SOA) deviants (-90 ms) for given tones in the attended rhythm. Rhythm predictability was controlled via the probability of SOA deviants per block. First, the results revealed hemispheric lateralization of beta-power according to attention direction, reflected as ipsilateral enhancement and contralateral suppression, which was amplified in high- relative to low-predictability conditions. Second, fluctuations in the time-resolved beta-lateralization aligned more strongly with the attended than the unattended tempo. Finally, a trend-level association was found between the degree of beta-lateralization and improved ability to distinguish between SOA-deviants in the attended versus unattended ear. Differently from previous studies, we presented continuous rhythms in which task-relevant and irrelevant stimuli had different tempo, thereby demonstrating that temporal alignment of beta-lateralization with attended sounds reflects top-down attention to sound timing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maja D Foldal
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway.,RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway
| | - Sabine Leske
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway.,Department of Musicology, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands vei 2, 0371 Oslo, Norway
| | - Alejandro O Blenkmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway.,RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway
| | - Tor Endestad
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway.,RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway.,Department of Neuropsychology, Helgeland Hospital, Skjervengan 17, 8657 Mosjøen, Norway
| | - Anne-Kristin Solbakk
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway.,RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway.,Department of Neuropsychology, Helgeland Hospital, Skjervengan 17, 8657 Mosjøen, Norway.,Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital, Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
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7
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Wang Y, Zhang Y, Hou P, Dong G, Shi L, Li W, Wei R, Li X. Excitability changes induced in the human auditory cortex by transcranial alternating current stimulation. Neurosci Lett 2023; 792:136960. [PMID: 36372094 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136960] [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: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) has been widely studied for its ability to regulate motor, perceptual, and cognitive functions. Given the unique frequency specificity of tACS, it is expected to directly target rhythmic activity in the typical electroencephalogram (EEG) range. After tACS stimulation, changes in stimulation-induced and evoked activities can be inspected. Detecting changes in auditory evoked activity after different frequencies of tACS stimulation will be helpful for further revealing the influence of tACS on the excitation/inhibition of γ activity in the auditory cortex. Using a randomized repeated measures design, this study assessed the effects of alpha(α)-tACS and gamma(γ)-tACS on the auditory steady-state response (ASSR) in 11 normal-hearing participants. Participants attended four sessions held at least one week apart, receiving tACS or sham treatment. The results indicated that α-tACS had an inhibitory effect on 40-Hz ASSR compared to both γ-tACS and sham tACS, which occurred 30 min after stimulation. Taken together, these findings contribute to the understanding of tACS-induced excitability changes in the human auditory cortex, helping reveal the neurophysiological changes after tACS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China; School of Precision Instruments and Optoelectronics Engineering Tianjin University, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Yue Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Peiyun Hou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Gaoyuan Dong
- School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Limeng Shi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Weiming Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Ran Wei
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Xiaojie Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China.
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8
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Ward RT, Gilbert FE, Pouliot J, Chiasson P, McIlvanie S, Traiser C, Riels K, Mears R, Keil A. The Relationship Between Self-Reported Misophonia Symptoms and Auditory Aversive Generalization Leaning: A Preliminary Report. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:899476. [PMID: 35812229 PMCID: PMC9260228 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.899476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Misophonia is characterized by excessive aversive reactions to specific "trigger" sounds. Although this disorder is increasingly recognized in the literature, its etiological mechanisms and maintaining factors are currently unclear. Several etiological models propose a role of Pavlovian conditioning, an associative learning process heavily researched in similar fear and anxiety-related disorders. In addition, generalization of learned associations has been noted as a potential causal or contributory factor. Building upon this framework, we hypothesized that Misophonia symptoms arise as a consequence of overgeneralized associative learning, in which aversive responses to a noxious event also occur in response to similar events. Alternatively, heightened discrimination between conditioned threat and safety cues may be present in participants high in Misophonia symptoms, as predicted by associative learning models of Misophonia. This preliminary report (n = 34) examines auditory generalization learning using self-reported behavioral (i.e., valence and arousal ratings) and EEG alpha power reduction. Participants listened to three sine tones differing in pitch, with one pitch (i.e., CS+) paired with an aversive loud white noise blast, prompting aversive Pavlovian generalization learning. We assessed the extent to which overgeneralization versus heightened discrimination learning is associated with self-reported Misophonia symptoms, by comparing aversive responses to the CS+ and other tones similar in pitch. Behaviorally, all participants learned the contingencies between CS+ and noxious noise, with individuals endorsing elevated Misophonia showing heightened aversive sensitivity to all stimuli, regardless of conditioning and independent of hyperacusis status. Across participants, parieto-occipital EEG alpha-band power reduction was most pronounced in response to the CS+ tone, and this difference was greater in those with self-reported Misophonia symptoms. The current preliminary findings do not support the notion that overgeneralization is a feature of self-reported emotional experience in Misophonia, but that heightened sensitivity and discrimination learning may be present at the neural level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard T. Ward
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Faith E. Gilbert
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Jourdan Pouliot
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Payton Chiasson
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Skylar McIlvanie
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Caitlin Traiser
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Kierstin Riels
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Ryan Mears
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Andreas Keil
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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9
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Hauswald A, Keitel A, Chen Y, Rösch S, Weisz N. Degradation levels of continuous speech affect neural speech tracking and alpha power differently. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:3288-3302. [PMID: 32687616 PMCID: PMC9540197 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 07/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Making sense of a poor auditory signal can pose a challenge. Previous attempts to quantify speech intelligibility in neural terms have usually focused on one of two measures, namely low-frequency speech-brain synchronization or alpha power modulations. However, reports have been mixed concerning the modulation of these measures, an issue aggravated by the fact that they have normally been studied separately. We present two MEG studies analyzing both measures. In study 1, participants listened to unimodal auditory speech with three different levels of degradation (original, 7-channel and 3-channel vocoding). Intelligibility declined with declining clarity, but speech was still intelligible to some extent even for the lowest clarity level (3-channel vocoding). Low-frequency (1-7 Hz) speech tracking suggested a U-shaped relationship with strongest effects for the medium-degraded speech (7-channel) in bilateral auditory and left frontal regions. To follow up on this finding, we implemented three additional vocoding levels (5-channel, 2-channel and 1-channel) in a second MEG study. Using this wider range of degradation, the speech-brain synchronization showed a similar pattern as in study 1, but further showed that when speech becomes unintelligible, synchronization declines again. The relationship differed for alpha power, which continued to decrease across vocoding levels reaching a floor effect for 5-channel vocoding. Predicting subjective intelligibility based on models either combining both measures or each measure alone showed superiority of the combined model. Our findings underline that speech tracking and alpha power are modified differently by the degree of degradation of continuous speech but together contribute to the subjective speech understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Hauswald
- Center of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
| | - Anne Keitel
- Psychology, School of Social SciencesUniversity of DundeeDundeeUK
- Centre for Cognitive NeuroimagingUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Ya‐Ping Chen
- Center of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
| | - Sebastian Rösch
- Department of OtorhinolaryngologyParacelsus Medical UniversitySalzburgAustria
| | - Nathan Weisz
- Center of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of SalzburgSalzburgAustria
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10
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Kemmerer SK, Sack AT, de Graaf TA, Ten Oever S, De Weerd P, Schuhmann T. Frequency-specific transcranial neuromodulation of alpha power alters visuospatial attention performance. Brain Res 2022; 1782:147834. [PMID: 35176250 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2022.147834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at 10Hz has been shown to modulate spatial attention. However, the frequency-specificity and the oscillatory changes underlying this tACS effect are still largely unclear. Here, we applied high-definition tACS at individual alpha frequency (IAF), two control frequencies (IAF+/-2Hz) and sham to the left posterior parietal cortex and measured its effects on visuospatial attention performance and offline alpha power (using electroencephalography, EEG). We revealed a behavioural and electrophysiological stimulation effect relative to sham for IAF but not control frequency stimulation conditions: there was a leftward lateralization of alpha power for IAF tACS, which differed from sham for the first out of three minutes following tACS. At a high value of this EEG effect (moderation effect), we observed a leftward attention bias relative to sham. This effect was task-specific, i.e. it could be found in an endogenous attention but not in a detection task. Only in the IAF tACS condition, we also found a correlation between the magnitude of the alpha lateralization and the attentional bias effect. Our results support a functional role of alpha oscillations in visuospatial attention and the potential of tACS to modulate it. The frequency-specificity of the effects suggests that an individualization of the stimulation frequency is necessary in heterogeneous target groups with a large variation in IAF.
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Affiliation(s)
- S K Kemmerer
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands; Brain Imaging Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - A T Sack
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands; Brain Imaging Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Brain + Nerve Centre, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - T A de Graaf
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands; Brain Imaging Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - S Ten Oever
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands; Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - P De Weerd
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands; Brain Imaging Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - T Schuhmann
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands; Brain Imaging Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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11
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Fabio C, Salemme R, Koun E, Farnè A, Miller LE. Alpha Oscillations Are Involved in Localizing Touch on Handheld Tools. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34:675-686. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The sense of touch is not restricted to the body but can also extend to external objects. When we use a handheld tool to contact an object, we feel the touch on the tool and not in the hand holding the tool. The ability to perceive touch on a tool actually extends along its entire surface, allowing the user to accurately localize where it is touched similarly as they would on their body. Although the neural mechanisms underlying the ability to localize touch on the body have been largely investigated, those allowing to localize touch on a tool are still unknown. We aimed to fill this gap by recording the electroencephalography signal of participants while they localized tactile stimuli on a handheld rod. We focused on oscillatory activity in the alpha (7–14 Hz) and beta (15–30 Hz) ranges, as they have been previously linked to distinct spatial codes used to localize touch on the body. Beta activity reflects the mapping of touch in skin-based coordinates, whereas alpha activity reflects the mapping of touch in external space. We found that alpha activity was solely modulated by the location of tactile stimuli applied on a handheld rod. Source reconstruction suggested that this alpha power modulation was localized in a network of fronto-parietal regions previously implicated in higher-order tactile and spatial processing. These findings are the first to implicate alpha oscillations in tool-extended sensing and suggest an important role for processing touch in external space when localizing touch on a tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Fabio
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
| | - Romeo Salemme
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
| | - Eric Koun
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
- University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Luke E. Miller
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
- Donders Institute for Brain, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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12
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Su E, Cai S, Xie L, Li H, Schultz T. STAnet: A Spatiotemporal Attention Network for Decoding Auditory Spatial Attention from EEG. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2022; 69:2233-2242. [PMID: 34982671 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2022.3140246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Humans are able to localize the source of a sound. This enables them to direct attention to a particular speaker in a cocktail party. Psycho-acoustic studies show that the sensory cortices of the human brain respond to the location of sound sources differently, and the auditory attention itself is a dynamic and temporally based brain activity. In this work, we seek to build a computational model which uses both spatial and temporal information manifested in EEG signals for auditory spatial attention detection (ASAD). METHODS We propose an end-to-end spatiotemporal attention network, denoted as STAnet, to detect auditory spatial attention from EEG. The STAnet is designed to assign differentiated weights dynamically to EEG channels through a spatial attention mechanism, and to temporal patterns in EEG signals through a temporal attention mechanism. RESULTS We report the ASAD experiments on two publicly available datasets. The STAnet outperforms other competitive models by a large margin under various experimental conditions. Its attention decision for 1-second decision window outperforms that of the state-of-the-art techniques for 10-second decision window. Experimental results also demonstrate that the STAnet achieves competitive performance on EEG signals ranging from 64 to as few as 16 channels. CONCLUSION This study provides evidence suggesting that efficient low-density EEG online decoding is within reach. SIGNIFICANCE This study also marks an important step towards the practical implementation of ASAD in real life applications.
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ElShafei HA, Orlemann C, Haegens S. The Impact of Eye Closure on Anticipatory α Activity in a Tactile Discrimination Task. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0412-21.2021. [PMID: 34965926 PMCID: PMC8805195 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0412-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the very first observations made regarding α oscillations (8-14 Hz), is that they increase in power over posterior areas when awake participants close their eyes. Recent work, especially in the context of (spatial) attention, suggests that α activity reflects a mechanism of functional inhibition. However, it remains unclear how eye closure impacts anticipatory α modulation observed in attention paradigms, and how this affects subsequent behavioral performance. Here, we recorded magnetoencephalography (MEG) in 33 human participants performing a tactile discrimination task with their eyes open versus closed. We replicated the hallmarks of previous somatosensory spatial attention studies: α lateralization across the somatosensory cortices as well as α increase over posterior (visual) regions. Furthermore, we found that eye closure leads to (1) reduced task performance; (2) widespread increase in α power; and (3) reduced anticipatory visual α modulation (4) with no effect on somatosensory α lateralization. Regardless of whether participants had their eyes open or closed, increased visual α power and somatosensory α lateralization improved their performance. Thus, we provide evidence that eye closure does not alter the impact of anticipatory α modulations on behavioral performance. We propose there is an optimal visual α level for somatosensory task performance, which can be achieved through a combination of eye closure and top-down anticipatory attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hesham A ElShafei
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 EN, The Netherlands
| | - Corinne Orlemann
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 EN, The Netherlands
| | - Saskia Haegens
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 EN, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032
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14
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Dahl MJ, Mather M, Werkle-Bergner M. Noradrenergic modulation of rhythmic neural activity shapes selective attention. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:38-52. [PMID: 34799252 PMCID: PMC8678372 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
During moments involving selective attention, the thalamus orchestrates the preferential processing of prioritized information by coordinating rhythmic neural activity within a distributed frontoparietal network. The timed release of neuromodulators from subcortical structures dynamically sculpts neural synchronization in thalamocortical networks to meet current attentional demands. In particular, noradrenaline modulates the balance of cortical excitation and inhibition, as reflected by thalamocortical alpha synchronization (~8-12 Hz). These neuromodulatory adjustments facilitate the selective processing of prioritized information. Thus, by disrupting effective rhythmic coordination in attention networks, age-related locus coeruleus (LC) degeneration can impair higher levels of neural processing. In sum, findings across different levels of analysis and modalities shed light on how the noradrenergic modulation of neural synchronization helps to shape selective attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin J Dahl
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Mara Mather
- Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Markus Werkle-Bergner
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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15
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Decoding Object-Based Auditory Attention from Source-Reconstructed MEG Alpha Oscillations. J Neurosci 2021; 41:8603-8617. [PMID: 34429378 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0583-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
How do we attend to relevant auditory information in complex naturalistic scenes? Much research has focused on detecting which information is attended, without regarding underlying top-down control mechanisms. Studies investigating attentional control generally manipulate and cue specific features in simple stimuli. However, in naturalistic scenes it is impossible to dissociate relevant from irrelevant information based on low-level features. Instead, the brain has to parse and select auditory objects of interest. The neural underpinnings of object-based auditory attention remain not well understood. Here we recorded MEG while 15 healthy human subjects (9 female) prepared for the repetition of an auditory object presented in one of two overlapping naturalistic auditory streams. The stream containing the repetition was prospectively cued with 70% validity. Crucially, this task could not be solved by attending low-level features, but only by processing the objects fully. We trained a linear classifier on the cortical distribution of source-reconstructed oscillatory activity to distinguish which auditory stream was attended. We could successfully classify the attended stream from alpha (8-14 Hz) activity in anticipation of repetition onset. Importantly, attention could only be classified from trials in which subjects subsequently detected the repetition, but not from miss trials. Behavioral relevance was further supported by a correlation between classification accuracy and detection performance. Decodability was not sustained throughout stimulus presentation, but peaked shortly before repetition onset, suggesting that attention acted transiently according to temporal expectations. We thus demonstrate anticipatory alpha oscillations to underlie top-down control of object-based auditory attention in complex naturalistic scenes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In everyday life, we often find ourselves bombarded with auditory information, from which we need to select what is relevant to our current goals. Previous research has highlighted how we attend to specific highly controlled aspects of the auditory input. Although invaluable, it is still unclear how this relates to attentional control in naturalistic auditory scenes. Here we used the high precision of magnetoencephalography in space and time to investigate the brain mechanisms underlying top-down control of object-based attention in ecologically valid sound scenes. We show that rhythmic activity in auditory association cortex at a frequency of ∼10 Hz (alpha waves) controls attention to currently relevant segments within the auditory scene and predicts whether these segments are subsequently detected.
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16
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ElShafei HA, Fornoni L, Masson R, Bertrand O, Bidet-Caulet A. What's in Your Gamma? Activation of the Ventral Fronto-Parietal Attentional Network in Response to Distracting Sounds. Cereb Cortex 2021; 30:696-707. [PMID: 31219542 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory attention operates through top-down (TD) and bottom-up (BU) mechanisms that are supported by dorsal and ventral brain networks, respectively, with the main overlap in the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC). A good TD/BU balance is essential to be both task-efficient and aware of our environment, yet it is rarely investigated. Oscillatory activity is a novel method to probe the attentional dynamics with evidence that gamma activity (>30 Hz) could signal BU processing and thus would be a good candidate to support the activation of the ventral BU attention network. Magnetoencephalography data were collected from 21 young adults performing the competitive attention task, which enables simultaneous investigation of BU and TD attentional mechanisms. Distracting sounds elicited an increase in gamma activity in regions of the BU ventral network. TD attention modulated these gamma responses in regions of the inhibitory cognitive control system: the medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices. Finally, distracting-sound-induced gamma activity was synchronous between the auditory cortices and several distant brain regions, notably the lPFC. We provide novel insight into the role of gamma activity 1) in supporting the activation of the ventral BU attention network and 2) in subtending the TD/BU attention balance in the PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hesham A ElShafei
- Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Lesly Fornoni
- Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Rémy Masson
- Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Olivier Bertrand
- Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Aurélie Bidet-Caulet
- Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, University of Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
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17
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Vandecappelle S, Deckers L, Das N, Ansari AH, Bertrand A, Francart T. EEG-based detection of the locus of auditory attention with convolutional neural networks. eLife 2021; 10:e56481. [PMID: 33929315 PMCID: PMC8143791 DOI: 10.7554/elife.56481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
In a multi-speaker scenario, the human auditory system is able to attend to one particular speaker of interest and ignore the others. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to use electroencephalography (EEG) signals to infer to which speaker someone is attending by relating the neural activity to the speech signals. However, classifying auditory attention within a short time interval remains the main challenge. We present a convolutional neural network-based approach to extract the locus of auditory attention (left/right) without knowledge of the speech envelopes. Our results show that it is possible to decode the locus of attention within 1-2 s, with a median accuracy of around 81%. These results are promising for neuro-steered noise suppression in hearing aids, in particular in scenarios where per-speaker envelopes are unavailable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Servaas Vandecappelle
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngologyLeuvenBelgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data AnalyticsLeuvenBelgium
| | - Lucas Deckers
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngologyLeuvenBelgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data AnalyticsLeuvenBelgium
| | - Neetha Das
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngologyLeuvenBelgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data AnalyticsLeuvenBelgium
| | - Amir Hossein Ansari
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data AnalyticsLeuvenBelgium
| | - Alexander Bertrand
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data AnalyticsLeuvenBelgium
| | - Tom Francart
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngologyLeuvenBelgium
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18
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Vandecappelle S, Deckers L, Das N, Ansari AH, Bertrand A, Francart T. EEG-based detection of the locus of auditory attention with convolutional neural networks. eLife 2021; 10:56481. [PMID: 33929315 DOI: 10.1101/475673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
In a multi-speaker scenario, the human auditory system is able to attend to one particular speaker of interest and ignore the others. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to use electroencephalography (EEG) signals to infer to which speaker someone is attending by relating the neural activity to the speech signals. However, classifying auditory attention within a short time interval remains the main challenge. We present a convolutional neural network-based approach to extract the locus of auditory attention (left/right) without knowledge of the speech envelopes. Our results show that it is possible to decode the locus of attention within 1-2 s, with a median accuracy of around 81%. These results are promising for neuro-steered noise suppression in hearing aids, in particular in scenarios where per-speaker envelopes are unavailable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Servaas Vandecappelle
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lucas Deckers
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Neetha Das
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Amir Hossein Ansari
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alexander Bertrand
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tom Francart
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Oto-rhino-laryngology, Leuven, Belgium
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19
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Geirnaert S, Francart T, Bertrand A. Fast EEG-Based Decoding Of The Directional Focus Of Auditory Attention Using Common Spatial Patterns. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2021; 68:1557-1568. [PMID: 33095706 DOI: 10.1109/tbme.2020.3033446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Noise reduction algorithms in current hearing devices lack informationabout the sound source a user attends to when multiple sources are present. To resolve this issue, they can be complemented with auditory attention decoding (AAD) algorithms, which decode the attention using electroencephalography (EEG) sensors. State-of-the-art AAD algorithms employ a stimulus reconstruction approach, in which the envelope of the attended source is reconstructed from the EEG and correlated with the envelopes of the individual sources. This approach, however, performs poorly on short signal segments, whilelonger segments yield impractically long detection delays when the user switches attention. METHODS We propose decoding the directional focus of attention using filterbank common spatial pattern filters (FB-CSP) as an alternative AAD paradigm, whichdoes not require access to the clean source envelopes. RESULTS The proposed FB-CSP approach outperforms both the stimulus reconstruction approach on short signal segments, as well as a convolutional neural network approach on the same task. We achieve a high accuracy (80% for [Formula: see text] windows and 70% for quasi-instantaneous decisions), which is sufficient to reach minimal expected switch durations below [Formula: see text]. We also demonstrate that the decoder can adapt to unlabeled data from anunseen subject and works with only a subset of EEG channels located around the ear to emulate a wearable EEG setup. CONCLUSION The proposed FB-CSP method provides fast and accurate decoding of the directional focus of auditory attention. SIGNIFICANCE The high accuracy on very short data segments is a major step forward towards practical neuro-steered hearing devices.
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20
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Köhler MHA, Demarchi G, Weisz N. Cochlear activity in silent cue-target intervals shows a theta-rhythmic pattern and is correlated to attentional alpha and theta modulations. BMC Biol 2021; 19:48. [PMID: 33726746 PMCID: PMC7968255 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-00992-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A long-standing debate concerns where in the processing hierarchy of the central nervous system (CNS) selective attention takes effect. In the auditory system, cochlear processes can be influenced via direct and mediated (by the inferior colliculus) projections from the auditory cortex to the superior olivary complex (SOC). Studies illustrating attentional modulations of cochlear responses have so far been limited to sound-evoked responses. The aim of the present study is to investigate intermodal (audiovisual) selective attention in humans simultaneously at the cortical and cochlear level during a stimulus-free cue-target interval. RESULTS We found that cochlear activity in the silent cue-target intervals was modulated by a theta-rhythmic pattern (~ 6 Hz). While this pattern was present independently of attentional focus, cochlear theta activity was clearly enhanced when attending to the upcoming auditory input. On a cortical level, classical posterior alpha and beta power enhancements were found during auditory selective attention. Interestingly, participants with a stronger release of inhibition in auditory brain regions show a stronger attentional modulation of cochlear theta activity. CONCLUSIONS These results hint at a putative theta-rhythmic sampling of auditory input at the cochlear level. Furthermore, our results point to an interindividual variable engagement of efferent pathways in an attentional context that are linked to processes within and beyond processes in auditory cortical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Herbert Albrecht Köhler
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
| | - Gianpaolo Demarchi
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Nathan Weisz
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria
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21
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Kim S, Schwalje AT, Liu AS, Gander PE, McMurray B, Griffiths TD, Choi I. Pre- and post-target cortical processes predict speech-in-noise performance. Neuroimage 2021; 228:117699. [PMID: 33387631 PMCID: PMC8291856 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding speech in noise (SiN) is a complex task that recruits multiple cortical subsystems. There is a variance in individuals' ability to understand SiN that cannot be explained by simple hearing profiles, which suggests that central factors may underlie the variance in SiN ability. Here, we elucidated a few cortical functions involved during a SiN task and their contributions to individual variance using both within- and across-subject approaches. Through our within-subject analysis of source-localized electroencephalography, we investigated how acoustic signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) alters cortical evoked responses to a target word across the speech recognition areas, finding stronger responses in left supramarginal gyrus (SMG, BA40 the dorsal lexicon area) with quieter noise. Through an individual differences approach, we found that listeners show different neural sensitivity to the background noise and target speech, reflected in the amplitude ratio of earlier auditory-cortical responses to speech and noise, named as an internal SNR. Listeners with better internal SNR showed better SiN performance. Further, we found that the post-speech time SMG activity explains a further amount of variance in SiN performance that is not accounted for by internal SNR. This result demonstrates that at least two cortical processes contribute to SiN performance independently: pre-target time processing to attenuate neural representation of background noise and post-target time processing to extract information from speech sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Subong Kim
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Adam T Schwalje
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Andrew S Liu
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Phillip E Gander
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Bob McMurray
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Timothy D Griffiths
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Inyong Choi
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
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22
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Zazio A, Ruhnau P, Weisz N, Wutz A. Pre-stimulus alpha-band power and phase fluctuations originate from different neural sources and exert distinct impact on stimulus-evoked responses. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:3178-3190. [PMID: 33539589 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Ongoing oscillatory neural activity before stimulus onset influences subsequent visual perception. Specifically, both the power and the phase of oscillations in the alpha-frequency band (9-13 Hz) have been reported to predict the detection of visual stimuli. Up to now, the functional mechanisms underlying pre-stimulus power and phase effects on upcoming visual percepts are debated. Here, we used magnetoencephalography recordings together with a near-threshold visual detection task to investigate the neural generators of pre-stimulus power and phase and their impact on subsequent visual-evoked responses. Pre-stimulus alpha-band power and phase opposition effects were found consistent with previous reports. Source localization suggested clearly distinct neural generators for these pre-stimulus effects: Power effects were mainly found in occipital-temporal regions, whereas phase effects also involved prefrontal areas. In order to be functionally relevant, the pre-stimulus correlates should influence post-stimulus processing. Using a trial-sorting approach, we observed that only pre-stimulus power modulated the Hits versus Misses difference in the evoked response, a well-established post-stimulus neural correlate of near-threshold perception, such that trials with stronger pre-stimulus power effect showed greater post-stimulus difference. By contrast, no influence of pre-stimulus phase effects were found. In sum, our study shows distinct generators for two pre-stimulus neural patterns predicting visual perception, and that only alpha power impacts the post-stimulus correlate of conscious access. This underlines the functional relevance of prestimulus alpha power on perceptual awareness, while questioning the role of alpha phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnese Zazio
- Neurophysiology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - Philipp Ruhnau
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Nathan Weisz
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Andreas Wutz
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
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Conley AC, Key AP, Taylor WD, Albert KM, Boyd BD, Vega JN, Newhouse PA. EEG as a Functional Marker of Nicotine Activity: Evidence From a Pilot Study of Adults With Late-Life Depression. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:721874. [PMID: 35002791 PMCID: PMC8732868 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.721874] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Late-life depression (LLD) is a debilitating condition that is associated with poor response to antidepressant medications and deficits in cognitive performance. Nicotinic cholinergic stimulation has emerged as a potentially effective candidate to improve cognitive performance in patients with cognitive impairment. Previous studies of nicotinic stimulation in animal models and human populations with cognitive impairment led to examining potential cognitive and mood effects of nicotinic stimulation in older adults with LLD. We report results from a pilot study of transdermal nicotine in LLD testing whether nicotine treatment would enhance cognitive performance and mood. The study used electroencephalography (EEG) recordings as a tool to test for potential mechanisms underlying the effect of nicotine. Eight non-smoking participants with LLD completed EEG recordings at baseline and after 12 weeks of transdermal nicotine treatment (NCT02816138). Nicotine augmentation treatment was associated with improved performance on an auditory oddball task. Analysis of event-related oscillations showed that nicotine treatment was associated with reduced beta desynchronization at week 12 for both standard and target trials. The change in beta power on standard trials was also correlated with improvement in mood symptoms. This pilot study provides preliminary evidence for the impact of nicotine in modulating cortical activity and improving mood in depressed older adults and shows the utility of using EEG as a marker of functional engagement in nicotinic interventions in clinical geriatric patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander C Conley
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Alexandra P Key
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States.,Vanderbilt Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Warren D Taylor
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States.,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Kimberly M Albert
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Brian D Boyd
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Jennifer N Vega
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Paul A Newhouse
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Cognitive Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States.,Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN, United States
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24
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Wöstmann M, Maess B, Obleser J. Orienting auditory attention in time: Lateralized alpha power reflects spatio-temporal filtering. Neuroimage 2020; 228:117711. [PMID: 33385562 PMCID: PMC7903158 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The deployment of neural alpha (8–12 Hz) lateralization in service of spatial attention is well-established: Alpha power increases in the cortical hemisphere ipsilateral to the attended hemifield, and decreases in the contralateral hemisphere, respectively. Much less is known about humans’ ability to deploy such alpha lateralization in time, and to thus exploit alpha power as a spatio-temporal filter. Here we show that spatially lateralized alpha power does signify – beyond the direction of spatial attention – the distribution of attention in time and thereby qualifies as a spatio-temporal attentional filter. Participants (N = 20) selectively listened to spoken numbers presented on one side (left vs right), while competing numbers were presented on the other side. Key to our hypothesis, temporal foreknowledge was manipulated via a visual cue, which was either instructive and indicated the to-be-probed number position (70% valid) or neutral. Temporal foreknowledge did guide participants’ attention, as they recognized numbers from the to-be-attended side more accurately following valid cues. In the magnetoencephalogram (MEG), spatial attention to the left versus right side induced lateralization of alpha power in all temporal cueing conditions. Modulation of alpha lateralization at the 0.8 Hz presentation rate of spoken numbers was stronger following instructive compared to neutral temporal cues. Critically, we found stronger modulation of lateralized alpha power specifically at the onsets of temporally cued numbers. These results suggest that the precisely timed hemispheric lateralization of alpha power qualifies as a spatio-temporal attentional filter mechanism susceptible to top-down behavioural goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malte Wöstmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Burkhard Maess
- Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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25
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Wang Y, Dong G, Shi L, Yang T, Chen R, Wang H, Han G. Depression of auditory cortex excitability by transcranial alternating current stimulation. Neurosci Lett 2020; 742:135559. [PMID: 33359048 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135559] [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: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a type of noninvasive brain stimulation technique that has been shown to modulate motor, cognitive and memory function. Direct electrophysiological evidence of an interaction between tACS and the auditory cortex excitability has rarely been reported. Different stimulation parameters and areas of tACS may have different influence on the regulatory results. In this study, 11-Hz tACS was applied to the auditory cortex of 12 subjects with normal hearing in order to explore its effects on the auditory steady-state response (ASSR). The results indicate that tACS has an inhibitory effect on 40-Hz ASSR. In addition, EEG source analysis shows that 11-Hz tACS may enhance the activity of the middle temporal gyrus under both sham and real conditions, while the estimated source activity of the posterior cingulate gyrus may be reduced under real condition. The results reveal that tACS applied to the temporal lobe of humans will make the 40-Hz ASSR a tendency to decrease, and help improve the understanding of modulation of tACS-induced auditory cortex excitability changes in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Wang
- School of Electronics & Information Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China; School of Precision Instruments and Optoelectronics Engineering Tianjin University, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Gaoyuan Dong
- School of Electronics & Information Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Limeng Shi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Tianshun Yang
- School of Electronics & Information Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Ruijuan Chen
- School of Electronics & Information Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Huiquan Wang
- School of Electronics & Information Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China; School of Precision Instruments and Optoelectronics Engineering Tianjin University, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Guang Han
- School of Electronics & Information Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Tiangong University, Tianjin, 300387, China; School of Precision Instruments and Optoelectronics Engineering Tianjin University, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
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26
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Correlates of Auditory Decision-Making in Prefrontal, Auditory, and Basal Lateral Amygdala Cortical Areas. J Neurosci 2020; 41:1301-1316. [PMID: 33303679 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2217-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial selective listening and auditory choice underlie important processes including attending to a speaker at a cocktail party and knowing how (or whether) to respond. To examine task encoding and the relative timing of potential neural substrates underlying these behaviors, we developed a spatial selective detection paradigm for monkeys, and recorded activity in primary auditory cortex (AC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and the basolateral amygdala (BLA). A comparison of neural responses among these three areas showed that, as expected, AC encoded the side of the cue and target characteristics before dlPFC and BLA. Interestingly, AC also encoded the choice of the monkey before dlPFC and around the time of BLA. Generally, BLA showed weak responses to all task features except the choice. Decoding analyses suggested that errors followed from a failure to encode the target stimulus in both AC and dlPFC, but again, these differences arose earlier in AC. The similarities between AC and dlPFC responses were abolished during passive sensory stimulation with identical trial conditions, suggesting that the robust sensory encoding in dlPFC is contextually gated. Thus, counter to a strictly PFC-driven decision process, in this spatial selective listening task AC neural activity represents the sensory and decision information before dlPFC. Unlike in the visual domain, in this auditory task, the BLA does not appear to be robustly involved in selective spatial processing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We examined neural correlates of an auditory spatial selective listening task by recording single-neuron activity in behaving monkeys from the amygdala, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and auditory cortex. We found that auditory cortex coded spatial cues and choice-related activity before dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or the amygdala. Auditory cortex also had robust delay period activity. Therefore, we found that auditory cortex could support the neural computations that underlie the behavioral processes in the task.
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27
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Changes of Effective Connectivity in the Alpha Band Characterize Differential Processing of Audiovisual Information in Cross-Modal Selective Attention. Neurosci Bull 2020; 36:1009-1022. [PMID: 32715390 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-020-00550-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cross-modal selective attention enhances the processing of sensory inputs that are most relevant to the task at hand. Such differential processing could be mediated by a swift network reconfiguration on the macroscopic level, but this remains a poorly understood process. To tackle this issue, we used a behavioral paradigm to introduce a shift of selective attention between the visual and auditory domains, and recorded scalp electroencephalographic signals from eight healthy participants. The changes in effective connectivity caused by the cross-modal attentional shift were delineated by analyzing spectral Granger Causality (GC), a metric of frequency-specific effective connectivity. Using data-driven methods of pattern-classification and feature-analysis, we found that a change in the α band (12 Hz-15 Hz) of GC is a stable feature across different individuals that can be used to decode the attentional shift. Specifically, auditory attention induces more pronounced information flow in the α band, especially from the parietal-occipital areas to the temporal-parietal areas, compared to the case of visual attention, reflecting a reconfiguration of interaction in the macroscopic brain network accompanying different processing. Our results support the role of α oscillation in organizing the information flow across spatially-separated brain areas and, thereby, mediating cross-modal selective attention.
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28
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Schmidt F, Demarchi G, Geyer F, Weisz N. A backward encoding approach to recover subcortical auditory activity. Neuroimage 2020; 218:116961. [PMID: 32439538 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Several subcortical nuclei along the auditory pathway are involved in the processing of sounds. One of the most commonly used methods of measuring the activity of these nuclei is the auditory brainstem response (ABR). Due to its low signal-to-noise ratio, ABR's have to be derived by averaging over activity generated by thousands of artificial sounds such as clicks or tone bursts. This approach cannot be easily applied to natural listening situations (e.g. speech, music), which limits auditory cognitive neuroscientific studies to investigate mostly cortical processes. We propose that by individually training backward encoding models to reconstruct evoked ABRs from high-density electrophysiological data, spatial filters can be tuned to auditory brainstem activity. Since these individualized filters can be applied (i.e. generalized) to any other data set using the same spatial coverage, this could allow for the estimation of auditory brainstem activity from any continuous sensor level data. In this study, we established a proof-of-concept by using backward encoding models generated using a click stimulation rate of 30 Hz to predict ABR activity recorded using EEG from an independent measurement using a stimulation rate of 9 Hz. We show that individually predicted and measured ABR's are highly correlated (r ~ 0.7). Importantly these predictions are stable even when applying the trained backward encoding model to a low number of trials, mimicking a situation with an unfavorable signal-to-noise ratio. Overall, this work lays the necessary foundation to use this approach in more interesting listening situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Schmidt
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Austria.
| | - Gianpaolo Demarchi
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Austria
| | - Florian Geyer
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Austria
| | - Nathan Weisz
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Austria
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29
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Mamashli F, Huang S, Khan S, Hämäläinen MS, Ahlfors SP, Ahveninen J. Distinct Regional Oscillatory Connectivity Patterns During Auditory Target and Novelty Processing. Brain Topogr 2020; 33:477-488. [PMID: 32441009 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-020-00776-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Auditory attention allows us to focus on relevant target sounds in the acoustic environment while maintaining the capability to orient to unpredictable (novel) sound changes. An open question is whether orienting to expected vs. unexpected auditory events are governed by anatomically distinct attention pathways, respectively, or by differing communication patterns within a common system. To address this question, we applied a recently developed PeSCAR analysis method to evaluate spectrotemporal functional connectivity patterns across subregions of broader cortical regions of interest (ROIs) to analyze magnetoencephalography data obtained during a cued auditory attention task. Subjects were instructed to detect a predictable harmonic target sound embedded among standard tones in one ear and to ignore the standard tones and occasional unpredictable novel sounds presented in the opposite ear. Phase coherence of estimated source activity was calculated between subregions of superior temporal, frontal, inferior parietal, and superior parietal cortex ROIs. Functional connectivity was stronger in response to target than novel stimuli between left superior temporal and left parietal ROIs and between left frontal and right parietal ROIs, with the largest effects observed in the beta band (15-35 Hz). In contrast, functional connectivity was stronger in response to novel than target stimuli in inter-hemispheric connections between left and right frontal ROIs, observed in early time windows in the alpha band (8-12 Hz). Our findings suggest that auditory processing of expected target vs. unexpected novel sounds involves different spatially, temporally, and spectrally distributed oscillatory connectivity patterns across temporal, parietal, and frontal areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahimeh Mamashli
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
| | - Samantha Huang
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Sheraz Khan
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Matti S Hämäläinen
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Seppo P Ahlfors
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Jyrki Ahveninen
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
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30
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Weisz N, Kraft NG, Demarchi G. Auditory cortical alpha/beta desynchronization prioritizes the representation of memory items during a retention period. eLife 2020; 9:55508. [PMID: 32378513 PMCID: PMC7242024 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
To-be-memorized information in working-memory could be protected against distracting influences by processes of functional inhibition or prioritization. Modulations of oscillations in the alpha to beta range in task-relevant sensory regions have been suggested to play an important role for both mechanisms. We adapted a Sternberg task variant to the auditory modality, with a strong or a weak distracting sound presented at a predictable time during the retention period. Using a time-generalized decoding approach, relatively decreased strength of memorized information was found prior to strong distractors, paralleled by decreased pre-distractor alpha/beta power in the left superior temporal gyrus (lSTG). Over the entire group, reduced beta power in lSTG was associated with relatively increased strength of memorized information. The extent of alpha power modulations within participants was negatively correlated with strength of memorized information. Overall, our results are compatible with a prioritization account, but point to nuanced differences between alpha and beta oscillations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Weisz
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Nadine Gabriele Kraft
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Gianpaolo Demarchi
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
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31
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Wilsch A, Mercier MR, Obleser J, Schroeder CE, Haegens S. Spatial Attention and Temporal Expectation Exert Differential Effects on Visual and Auditory Discrimination. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:1562-1576. [PMID: 32319865 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Anticipation of an impending stimulus shapes the state of the sensory systems, optimizing neural and behavioral responses. Here, we studied the role of brain oscillations in mediating spatial and temporal anticipations. Because spatial attention and temporal expectation are often associated with visual and auditory processing, respectively, we directly contrasted the visual and auditory modalities and asked whether these anticipatory mechanisms are similar in both domains. We recorded the magnetoencephalogram in healthy human participants performing an auditory and visual target discrimination task, in which cross-modal cues provided both temporal and spatial information with regard to upcoming stimulus presentation. Motivated by prior findings, we were specifically interested in delta (1-3 Hz) and alpha (8-13 Hz) band oscillatory state in anticipation of target presentation and their impact on task performance. Our findings support the view that spatial attention has a stronger effect in the visual domain, whereas temporal expectation effects are more prominent in the auditory domain. For the spatial attention manipulation, we found a typical pattern of alpha lateralization in the visual system, which correlated with response speed. Providing a rhythmic temporal cue led to increased postcue synchronization of low-frequency rhythms, although this effect was more broadband in nature, suggesting a general phase reset rather than frequency-specific neural entrainment. In addition, we observed delta-band synchronization with a frontal topography, which correlated with performance, especially in the auditory task. Combined, these findings suggest that spatial and temporal anticipations operate via a top-down modulation of the power and phase of low-frequency oscillations, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Manuel R Mercier
- University of Toulouse Paul Sabatier.,Aix Marseille University, Inserm, INS, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France
| | - Jonas Obleser
- University of Lübeck.,Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Charles E Schroeder
- Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.,Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, SC
| | - Saskia Haegens
- Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.,Radboud University Nijmegen
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32
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Deng Y, Choi I, Shinn-Cunningham B. Topographic specificity of alpha power during auditory spatial attention. Neuroimage 2020; 207:116360. [PMID: 31760150 PMCID: PMC9883080 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 10/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual and somatosensory spatial attention both induce parietal alpha (8-14 Hz) oscillations whose topographical distribution depends on the direction of spatial attentional focus. In the auditory domain, contrasts of parietal alpha power for leftward and rightward attention reveal qualitatively similar lateralization; however, it is not clear whether alpha lateralization changes monotonically with the direction of auditory attention as it does for visual spatial attention. In addition, most previous studies of alpha oscillation did not consider individual differences in alpha frequency, but simply analyzed power in a fixed spectral band. Here, we recorded electroencephalography in human subjects when they directed attention to one of five azimuthal locations. After a cue indicating the direction of an upcoming target sequence of spoken syllables (yet before the target began), alpha power changed in a task-specific manner. Individual peak alpha frequencies differed consistently between central electrodes and parieto-occipital electrodes, suggesting multiple neural generators of task-related alpha. Parieto-occipital alpha increased over the hemisphere ipsilateral to attentional focus compared to the contralateral hemisphere, and changed systematically as the direction of attention shifted from far left to far right. These results showing that parietal alpha lateralization changes smoothly with the direction of auditory attention as in visual spatial attention provide further support to the growing evidence that the frontoparietal attention network is supramodal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi Deng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Inyong Choi
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Barbara Shinn-Cunningham
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA,Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA,Corresponding author. Baker Hall 254G, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA. (B. Shinn-Cunningham)
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33
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Jenson D, Thornton D, Harkrider AW, Saltuklaroglu T. Influences of cognitive load on sensorimotor contributions to working memory: An EEG investigation of mu rhythm activity during speech discrimination. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2019; 166:107098. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2019.107098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Revised: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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34
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Deng Y, Reinhart RMG, Choi I, Shinn-Cunningham BG. Causal links between parietal alpha activity and spatial auditory attention. eLife 2019; 8:e51184. [PMID: 31782732 PMCID: PMC6904218 DOI: 10.7554/elife.51184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 11/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Both visual and auditory spatial selective attention result in lateralized alpha (8-14 Hz) oscillatory power in parietal cortex: alpha increases in the hemisphere ipsilateral to attentional focus. Brain stimulation studies suggest a causal relationship between parietal alpha and suppression of the representation of contralateral visual space. However, there is no evidence that parietal alpha controls auditory spatial attention. Here, we performed high definition transcranial alternating current stimulation (HD-tACS) on human subjects performing an auditory task in which they directed attention based on either spatial or nonspatial features. Alpha (10 Hz) but not theta (6 Hz) HD-tACS of right parietal cortex interfered with attending left but not right auditory space. Parietal stimulation had no effect for nonspatial auditory attention. Moreover, performance in post-stimulation trials returned rapidly to baseline. These results demonstrate a causal, frequency-, hemispheric-, and task-specific effect of parietal alpha brain stimulation on top-down control of auditory spatial attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi Deng
- Biomedical EngineeringBoston UniversityBostonUnited States
| | | | - Inyong Choi
- Communication Sciences and DisordersUniversity of IowaIowa CityUnited States
| | - Barbara G Shinn-Cunningham
- Biomedical EngineeringBoston UniversityBostonUnited States
- Neuroscience InstituteCarnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburghUnited States
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35
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Hartmann T, Weisz N. Auditory cortical generators of the Frequency Following Response are modulated by intermodal attention. Neuroimage 2019; 203:116185. [PMID: 31520743 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Revised: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The efferent auditory system suggests that brainstem auditory regions could also be sensitive to top-down processes. In electrophysiology, the Frequency Following Response (FFR) to speech stimuli has been used extensively to study brainstem areas. Despite seemingly straight-forward in addressing the issue of attentional modulations of brainstem regions by means of the FFR, the existing results are inconsistent. Moreover, the notion that the FFR exclusively represents subcortical generators has been challenged. We aimed to gain a more differentiated perspective on how the generators of the FFR are modulated by either attending to the visual or auditory input while neural activity was recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG). In a first step our results confirm the strong contribution of also cortical regions to the FFR. Interestingly, of all regions exhibiting a measurable FFR response, only the right primary auditory cortex was significantly affected by intermodal attention. By showing a clear cortical contribution to the attentional FFR effect, our work significantly extends previous reports that focus on surface level recordings only. It underlines the importance of making a greater effort to disentangle the different contributing sources of the FFR and serves as a clear precaution of simplistically interpreting the FFR as brainstem response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Hartmann
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron Universität Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstraße 34/II, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
| | - Nathan Weisz
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron Universität Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstraße 34/II, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
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36
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Dimitrijevic A, Smith ML, Kadis DS, Moore DR. Neural indices of listening effort in noisy environments. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11278. [PMID: 31375712 PMCID: PMC6677804 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47643-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
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37
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Oscillatory Properties of Functional Connections Between Sensory Areas Mediate Cross-Modal Illusory Perception. J Neurosci 2019; 39:5711-5718. [PMID: 31109964 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3184-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The presentation of simple auditory stimuli can significantly impact visual processing and even induce visual illusions, such as the auditory-induced double flash illusion (DFI). These cross-modal processes have been shown to be driven by occipital oscillatory activity within the alpha band. Whether this phenomenon is network specific or can be generalized to other sensory interactions remains unknown. The aim of the current study was to test whether cross-modal interactions between somatosensory-to-visual areas leading to the same (but tactile-induced) DFI share similar properties with the auditory DFI. We hypothesized that if the effects are mediated by the oscillatory properties of early visual areas per se, then the two versions of the illusion should be subtended by the same neurophysiological mechanism (i.e., the speed of the alpha frequency). Alternatively, if the oscillatory activity in visual areas predicting this phenomenon is dependent on the specific neural network involved, then it should reflect network-specific oscillatory properties. In line with the latter, results recorded in humans (both sexes) show a network-specific oscillatory profile linking the auditory DFI to occipital alpha oscillations, replicating previous findings, and tactile DFI to occipital beta oscillations, a rhythm typical of somatosensory processes. These frequency-specific effects are observed for visual (but not auditory or somatosensory) areas and account for auditory-visual connectivity in the alpha band and somatosensory-visual connectivity in the beta band. We conclude that task-dependent visual oscillations reflect network-specific oscillatory properties favoring optimal directional neural communication timing for sensory binding.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We investigated the oscillatory correlates of the auditory- and tactile-induced double flash illusion (DFI), a phenomenon where two interleaved beeps (taps) set within 100 ms apart and paired with one visual flash induce the sensation of a second illusory flash. Results confirm previous evidence that the speed of individual occipital alpha oscillations predict the temporal window of the auditory-induced illusion. Importantly, they provide novel evidence that the tactile-induced DFI is instead mediated by the speed of individual occipital beta oscillations. These task-dependent occipital oscillations are shown to be mediated by the oscillatory properties of the neural network engaged in the task to favor optimal temporal integration between the senses.
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O'Sullivan AE, Lim CY, Lalor EC. Look at me when I'm talking to you: Selective attention at a multisensory cocktail party can be decoded using stimulus reconstruction and alpha power modulations. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 50:3282-3295. [PMID: 31013361 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2018] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Recent work using electroencephalography has applied stimulus reconstruction techniques to identify the attended speaker in a cocktail party environment. The success of these approaches has been primarily based on the ability to detect cortical tracking of the acoustic envelope at the scalp level. However, most studies have ignored the effects of visual input, which is almost always present in naturalistic scenarios. In this study, we investigated the effects of visual input on envelope-based cocktail party decoding in two multisensory cocktail party situations: (a) Congruent AV-facing the attended speaker while ignoring another speaker represented by the audio-only stream and (b) Incongruent AV (eavesdropping)-attending the audio-only speaker while looking at the unattended speaker. We trained and tested decoders for each condition separately and found that we can successfully decode attention to congruent audiovisual speech and can also decode attention when listeners were eavesdropping, i.e., looking at the face of the unattended talker. In addition to this, we found alpha power to be a reliable measure of attention to the visual speech. Using parieto-occipital alpha power, we found that we can distinguish whether subjects are attending or ignoring the speaker's face. Considering the practical applications of these methods, we demonstrate that with only six near-ear electrodes we can successfully determine the attended speech. This work extends the current framework for decoding attention to speech to more naturalistic scenarios, and in doing so provides additional neural measures which may be incorporated to improve decoding accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aisling E O'Sullivan
- School of Engineering, Trinity Centre for Bioengineering and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Chantelle Y Lim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
| | - Edmund C Lalor
- School of Engineering, Trinity Centre for Bioengineering and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.,Department of Neuroscience, Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
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Dahl MJ, Ilg L, Li SC, Passow S, Werkle-Bergner M. Diminished pre-stimulus alpha-lateralization suggests compromised self-initiated attentional control of auditory processing in old age. Neuroimage 2019; 197:414-424. [PMID: 31054351 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Revised: 04/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Older adults experience difficulties in daily situations that require flexible information selection in the presence of multiple competing sensory inputs, like for instance multi-talker situations. Modulations of rhythmic neural activity in the alpha-beta (8-30 Hz) frequency range in posterior brain areas have been established as a cross-modal neural correlate of selective attention. However, research linking compromised auditory selective attention to changes in rhythmic neural activity in aging is sparse. We tested younger (n = 25; 22-35 years) and older adults (n = 26; 63-76 years) in an attention modulated dichotic listening task. In this, two streams of highly similar auditory input were simultaneously presented to participants' both ears (i.e., dichotically) while attention had to be focused on the input to only one ear (i.e. target) and the other, distracting information had to be ignored. We here demonstrate a link between severely compromised auditory selective attention in aging and a partial reorganization of attention-related rhythmic neural responses. In particular, in old age we observed a shift from a self-initiated, preparatory modulation of lateralized alpha rhythmic activity to an externally driven response in the alpha-beta range. Critically, moment-to-moment fluctuations in the age-specific patterns of self-initiated and externally driven lateralized rhythmic activity were associated with behavioral performance. We conclude that adult age differences in spatial selective attention likely derive from a functional reorganization of rhythmic neural activity within the aging brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin J Dahl
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Liesa Ilg
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Shu-Chen Li
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Susanne Passow
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Markus Werkle-Bergner
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
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Plass J, Ahn E, Towle VL, Stacey WC, Wasade VS, Tao J, Wu S, Issa NP, Brang D. Joint Encoding of Auditory Timing and Location in Visual Cortex. J Cogn Neurosci 2019; 31:1002-1017. [PMID: 30912728 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Co-occurring sounds can facilitate perception of spatially and temporally correspondent visual events. Separate lines of research have identified two putatively distinct neural mechanisms underlying two types of crossmodal facilitations: Whereas crossmodal phase resetting is thought to underlie enhancements based on temporal correspondences, lateralized occipital evoked potentials (ERPs) are thought to reflect enhancements based on spatial correspondences. Here, we sought to clarify the relationship between these two effects to assess whether they reflect two distinct mechanisms or, rather, two facets of the same underlying process. To identify the neural generators of each effect, we examined crossmodal responses to lateralized sounds in visually responsive cortex of 22 patients using electrocorticographic recordings. Auditory-driven phase reset and ERP responses in visual cortex displayed similar topography, revealing significant activity in pericalcarine, inferior occipital-temporal, and posterior parietal cortex, with maximal activity in lateral occipitotemporal cortex (potentially V5/hMT+). Laterality effects showed similar but less widespread topography. To test whether lateralized and nonlateralized components of crossmodal ERPs emerged from common or distinct neural generators, we compared responses throughout visual cortex. Visual electrodes responded to both contralateral and ipsilateral sounds with a contralateral bias, suggesting that previously observed laterality effects do not emerge from a distinct neural generator but rather reflect laterality-biased responses in the same neural populations that produce phase-resetting responses. These results suggest that crossmodal phase reset and ERP responses previously found to reflect spatial and temporal facilitation in visual cortex may reflect the same underlying mechanism. We propose a new unified model to account for these and previous results.
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Teoh ES, Lalor EC. EEG decoding of the target speaker in a cocktail party scenario: considerations regarding dynamic switching of talker location. J Neural Eng 2019; 16:036017. [PMID: 30836345 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ab0cf1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE It has been shown that attentional selection in a simple dichotic listening paradigm can be decoded offline by reconstructing the stimulus envelope from single-trial neural response data. Here, we test the efficacy of this approach in an environment with non-stationary talkers. We then look beyond the envelope reconstructions themselves and consider whether incorporating the decoder values-which reflect the weightings applied to the multichannel EEG data at different time lags and scalp locations when reconstructing the stimulus envelope-can improve decoding performance. APPROACH High-density EEG was recorded as subjects attended to one of two talkers. The two speech streams were filtered using HRTFs, and the talkers were alternated between the left and right locations at varying intervals to simulate a dynamic environment. We trained spatio-temporal decoders mapping from EEG data to the attended and unattended stimulus envelopes. We then decoded auditory attention by (1) using the attended decoder to reconstruct the envelope and (2) exploiting the fact that decoder weightings themselves contain signatures of attention, resulting in consistent patterns across subjects that can be classified. MAIN RESULTS The previously established decoding approach was found to be effective even with non-stationary talkers. Signatures of attentional selection and attended direction were found in the spatio-temporal structure of the decoders and were consistent across subjects. The inclusion of decoder weights into the decoding algorithm resulted in significantly improved decoding accuracies (from 61.07% to 65.31% for 4 s windows). An attempt was made to include alpha power lateralization as another feature to improve decoding, although this was unsuccessful at the single-trial level. SIGNIFICANCE This work suggests that the spatial-temporal decoder weights can be utilised to improve decoding. More generally, looking beyond envelope reconstruction and incorporating other signatures of attention is an avenue that should be explored to improve selective auditory attention decoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily S Teoh
- School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Rogers CS, Payne L, Maharjan S, Wingfield A, Sekuler R. Older adults show impaired modulation of attentional alpha oscillations: Evidence from dichotic listening. Psychol Aging 2019; 33:246-258. [PMID: 29658746 DOI: 10.1037/pag0000238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Auditory attention is critical for selectively listening to speech from a single talker in a multitalker environment (e.g., Cherry, 1953). Listening in such situations is notoriously more difficult and more poorly encoded to long-term memory in older than in young adults (Tun, O'Kane, & Wingfield, 2002). Recent work by Payne, Rogers, Wingfield, and Sekuler (2017) in young adults demonstrated a neural correlate of auditory attention in the directed dichotic listening task (DDLT), where listeners attend to one ear while ignoring the other. Measured using electroencephalography, differences in alpha band power (8-14 Hz) between left and right hemisphere parietal regions mark the direction to which auditory attention is focused. Little prior research has been conducted on alpha power modulations in older adults, particularly with regard to auditory attention directed toward speech stimuli. In the current study, an older adult sample was administered the DDLT and delayed recognition procedures used by Payne et al. (2017). Compared to young adults, older adults showed reduced selective attention in the DDLT, evidenced by a higher rate of intrusions from the unattended ear. Moreover, older adults did not exhibit attention-related alpha modulation evidenced by young adults, nor did their event-related potentials (ERPs) to recognition probes differentiate between attended or unattended probes. Older adults' delayed recognition did not reveal a pattern of suppression of unattended items evidenced by young adults. These results serve as evidence for an age-related decline in selective auditory attention, potentially mediated by age-related decline in the ability to modulate alpha oscillations. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad S Rogers
- Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University
| | - Lisa Payne
- Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University
| | - Sujala Maharjan
- Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University
| | | | - Robert Sekuler
- Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University
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Sliva DD, Black CJ, Bowary P, Agrawal U, Santoyo JF, Philip NS, Greenberg BD, Moore CI, Jones SR. A Prospective Study of the Impact of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on EEG Correlates of Somatosensory Perception. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2117. [PMID: 30515114 PMCID: PMC6255923 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The (8-12 Hz) neocortical alpha rhythm is associated with shifts in attention across sensory systems, and is thought to represent a sensory gating mechanism for the inhibitory control of cortical processing. The present preliminary study sought to explore whether alpha frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) could modulate endogenous alpha power in the somatosensory system, and whether the hypothesized modulation would causally impact perception of tactile stimuli at perceptual threshold. We combined electroencephalography (EEG) with simultaneous brief and intermittent tACS applied over primary somatosensory cortex at individuals' endogenous alpha frequency during a tactile detection task (n = 12 for EEG, n = 20 for behavior). EEG-measured pre-stimulus alpha power was higher on non-perceived than perceived trials, and analogous perceptual correlates emerged in early components of the tactile evoked response. Further, baseline normalized tactile detection performance was significantly lower during alpha than sham tACS, but the effect did not last into the post-tACS time period. Pre- to post-tACS changes in alpha power were linearly dependent upon baseline state, such that alpha power tended to increase when pre-tACS alpha power was low, and decrease when it was high. However, these observations were comparable in both groups, and not associated with evidence of tACS-induced alpha power modulation. Nevertheless, the tactile stimulus evoked response potential (ERP) revealed a potentially lasting impact of alpha tACS on circuit dynamics. The post-tACS ERP was marked by the emergence of a prominent peak ∼70 ms post-stimulus, which was not discernible post-sham, or in either pre-stimulation condition. Computational neural modeling designed to simulate macroscale EEG signals supported the hypothesis that the emergence of this peak could reflect synaptic plasticity mechanisms induced by tACS. The primary lesson learned in this study, which commanded a small sample size, was that while our experimental paradigm provided some evidence of an influence of tACS on behavior and circuit dynamics, it was not sufficient to induce observable causal effects of tACS on EEG-measured alpha oscillations. We discuss limitations and suggest improvements that may help further delineate a causal influence of tACS on cortical dynamics and perception in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle D. Sliva
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Christopher J. Black
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Paul Bowary
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, Providence, RI, United States
- Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, United States
- Butler Hospital, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Uday Agrawal
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Juan F. Santoyo
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Noah S. Philip
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, Providence, RI, United States
- Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, United States
- Butler Hospital, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Benjamin D. Greenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, Providence, RI, United States
- Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, United States
- Butler Hospital, Providence, RI, United States
| | | | - Stephanie R. Jones
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
- Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, United States
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Light modulates oscillatory alpha activity in the occipital cortex of totally visually blind individuals with intact non-image-forming photoreception. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16968. [PMID: 30446699 PMCID: PMC6240048 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35400-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) marked a major shift in our understanding of how light information is processed by the mammalian brain. These ipRGCs influence multiple functions not directly related to image formation such as circadian resetting and entrainment, pupil constriction, enhancement of alertness, as well as the modulation of cognition. More recently, it was demonstrated that ipRGCs may also contribute to basic visual functions. The impact of ipRGCs on visual function, independently of image forming photoreceptors, remains difficult to isolate, however, particularly in humans. We previously showed that exposure to intense monochromatic blue light (465 nm) induced non-conscious light perception in a forced choice task in three rare totally visually blind individuals without detectable rod and cone function, but who retained non-image-forming responses to light, very likely via ipRGCs. The neural foundation of such light perception in the absence of conscious vision is unknown, however. In this study, we characterized the brain activity of these three participants using electroencephalography (EEG), and demonstrate that unconsciously perceived light triggers an early and reliable transient desynchronization (i.e. decreased power) of the alpha EEG rhythm (8–14 Hz) over the occipital cortex. These results provide compelling insight into how ipRGC may contribute to transient changes in ongoing brain activity. They suggest that occipital alpha rhythm synchrony, which is typically linked to the visual system, is modulated by ipRGCs photoreception; a process that may contribute to the non-conscious light perception in those blind individuals.
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Klatt LI, Getzmann S, Wascher E, Schneider D. The contribution of selective spatial attention to sound detection and sound localization: Evidence from event-related potentials and lateralized alpha oscillations. Biol Psychol 2018; 138:133-145. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2018] [Revised: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Two Sides of the Same Coin: Distinct Sub-Bands in the α Rhythm Reflect Facilitation and Suppression Mechanisms during Auditory Anticipatory Attention. eNeuro 2018; 5:eN-NWR-0141-18. [PMID: 30225355 PMCID: PMC6140117 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0141-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Revised: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Anticipatory attention results in enhanced response to task-relevant stimulus, and reduced processing of unattended input, suggesting the deployment of distinct facilitatory and suppressive mechanisms. α Oscillations are a suitable candidate for supporting these mechanisms. We aimed to examine the role of α oscillations, with a special focus on peak frequencies, in facilitatory and suppressive mechanisms during auditory anticipation, within the auditory and visual regions. Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data were collected from fourteen healthy young human adults (eight female) performing an auditory task in which spatial attention to sounds was manipulated by visual cues, either informative or not of the target side. By incorporating uninformative cues, we could delineate facilitating and suppressive mechanisms. During anticipation of a visually-cued auditory target, we observed a decrease in α power around 9 Hz in the auditory cortices; and an increase around 13 Hz in the visual regions. Only this power increase in high α significantly correlated with behavior. Importantly, within the right auditory cortex, we showed a larger increase in high α power when attending an ipsilateral sound; and a stronger decrease in low α power when attending a contralateral sound. In summary, we found facilitatory and suppressive attentional mechanisms with distinct timing in task-relevant and task-irrelevant brain areas, differentially correlated to behavior and supported by distinct α sub-bands. We provide new insight into the role of the α peak-frequency by showing that anticipatory attention is supported by distinct facilitatory and suppressive mechanisms, mediated in different low and high sub-bands of the α rhythm, respectively.
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tACS-mediated modulation of the auditory steady-state response as seen with MEG. Hear Res 2018; 364:90-95. [DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2018.03.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Revised: 03/11/2018] [Accepted: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Mehraei G, Shinn-Cunningham B, Dau T. Influence of talker discontinuity on cortical dynamics of auditory spatial attention. Neuroimage 2018; 179:548-556. [PMID: 29960089 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Revised: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In everyday acoustic scenes, listeners face the challenge of selectively attending to a sound source and maintaining attention on that source long enough to extract meaning. This task is made more daunting by frequent perceptual discontinuities in the acoustic scene: talkers move in space and conversations switch from one speaker to another in a background of many other sources. The inherent dynamics of such switches directly impact our ability to sustain attention. Here we asked how discontinuity in talker voice affects the ability to focus auditory attention to sounds from a particular location as well as neural correlates of underlying processes. During electroencephalography recordings, listeners attended to a stream of spoken syllables from one direction while ignoring distracting syllables from a different talker from the opposite hemifield. On some trials, the talker switched locations in the middle of the streams, creating a discontinuity. This switch disrupted attentional modulation of cortical responses; specifically, event-related potentials evoked by syllables in the to-be-attended direction were suppressed and power in alpha oscillations (8-12 Hz) were reduced following the discontinuity. Importantly, at an individual level, the ability to maintain attention to a target stream and report its content, despite the discontinuity, correlates with the magnitude of the disruption of these cortical responses. These results have implications for understanding cortical mechanisms supporting attention. The changes in the cortical responses may serve as a predictor of how well individuals can communicate in complex acoustic scenes and may help in the development of assistive devices and interventions to aid clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Golbarg Mehraei
- Hearing Systems Group, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads Building 352, 2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Barbara Shinn-Cunningham
- Center for Research in Sensory Communication and Emerging Neural Technology, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Torsten Dau
- Hearing Systems Group, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads Building 352, 2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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Tune S, Wöstmann M, Obleser J. Probing the limits of alpha power lateralisation as a neural marker of selective attention in middle-aged and older listeners. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 48:2537-2550. [PMID: 29430736 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Revised: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, hemispheric lateralisation of alpha power has emerged as a neural mechanism thought to underpin spatial attention across sensory modalities. Yet, how healthy ageing, beginning in middle adulthood, impacts the modulation of lateralised alpha power supporting auditory attention remains poorly understood. In the current electroencephalography study, middle-aged and older adults (N = 29; ~40-70 years) performed a dichotic listening task that simulates a challenging, multitalker scenario. We examined the extent to which the modulation of 8-12 Hz alpha power would serve as neural marker of listening success across age. With respect to the increase in interindividual variability with age, we examined an extensive battery of behavioural, perceptual and neural measures. Similar to findings on younger adults, middle-aged and older listeners' auditory spatial attention induced robust lateralisation of alpha power, which synchronised with the speech rate. Notably, the observed relationship between this alpha lateralisation and task performance did not co-vary with age. Instead, task performance was strongly related to an individual's attentional and working memory capacity. Multivariate analyses revealed a separation of neural and behavioural variables independent of age. Our results suggest that in age-varying samples as the present one, the lateralisation of alpha power is neither a sufficient nor necessary neural strategy for an individual's auditory spatial attention, as higher age might come with increased use of alternative, compensatory mechanisms. Our findings emphasise that explaining interindividual variability will be key to understanding the role of alpha oscillations in auditory attention in the ageing listener.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Tune
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Maria-Goeppert-Str. 9a, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Malte Wöstmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Maria-Goeppert-Str. 9a, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Maria-Goeppert-Str. 9a, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
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The impact of visual gaze direction on auditory object tracking. Sci Rep 2017; 7:4640. [PMID: 28680049 PMCID: PMC5498632 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04475-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Subjective experience suggests that we are able to direct our auditory attention independent of our visual gaze, e.g when shadowing a nearby conversation at a cocktail party. But what are the consequences at the behavioural and neural level? While numerous studies have investigated both auditory attention and visual gaze independently, little is known about their interaction during selective listening. In the present EEG study, we manipulated visual gaze independently of auditory attention while participants detected targets presented from one of three loudspeakers. We observed increased response times when gaze was directed away from the locus of auditory attention. Further, we found an increase in occipital alpha-band power contralateral to the direction of gaze, indicative of a suppression of distracting input. Finally, this condition also led to stronger central theta-band power, which correlated with the observed effect in response times, indicative of differences in top-down processing. Our data suggest that a misalignment between gaze and auditory attention both reduce behavioural performance and modulate underlying neural processes. The involvement of central theta-band and occipital alpha-band effects are in line with compensatory neural mechanisms such as increased cognitive control and the suppression of task irrelevant inputs.
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