Enhancing multiple object tracking performance with noninvasive brain stimulation: A causal role for the anterior intraparietal sulcus

Autor: Eric Joshua Blumberg, Matthew Steely Peterson, Raja eParasuraman
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, Vol 9 (2015)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1662-5137
DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00003
Popis: Multiple object tracking (MOT) is a complex task recruiting a distributed network of brain regions. There are also marked individual differences in MOT performance. A positive causal relationship between the anterior intraparietal sulcus (AIPS), an integral region in the MOT attention network and inter-individual variation in MOT performance has not been previously established. The present study used transcranial direction current stimulation (tDCS), a form of non-invasive brain stimulation, in order to examine such a causal link. Active anodal stimulation was applied to the right AIPS and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (and sham stimulation), an area associated with working memory (but not MOT) while participants completed a MOT task. Stimulation to the right AIPS significantly improved MOT accuracy more than the other two conditions. The results confirm a causal role of the AIPS in the MOT task and illustrate that transcranial direct current stimulation has the ability to improve MOT performance.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals