Abstract
Recent studies have shown that perceptual detection of near-threshold auditory events may depend on the relative timing of the event and ongoing brain oscillations. Furthermore, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a non-invasive and silent brain stimulation technique, can entrain cortical alpha oscillations and thereby provide some experimental control over their timing. The present research investigates the potential of delta/theta-tACS to modulate hearing and auditory scene analysis. Detection of near-threshold auditory stimuli, which are modulated at 4 Hz and presented at various moments (phase lags) during ongoing tACS (two synchronous 4-Hz alternating currents applied transcranially to the two cerebral hemispheres), is measured in silence or in a masker. Results indicate that performance fluctuates as a function of phase lag and these fluctuations can be explained best by a sinusoid at the tACS frequency. This suggests that tACS may amplify/attenuate sounds that are temporally coherent/anticoherent with tACS-entrained cortical oscillations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 371-379 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology |
| Volume | 894 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Keywords
- Brain stimulation
- Neural oscillation
- Entrainment
- Auditory cortex
- Phase alignment
- NEURAL OSCILLATIONS
- SENSORY SELECTION
- NETWORK ACTIVITY
- MECHANISMS
- PERCEPTION
- MODULATION
- BEHAVIOR