Spatial Attention and the Effects of Frontoparietal Alpha Band Stimulation

作者：van Schouwenburg Martine R^*; Zanto Theodore P; Gazzaley Adam

来源：Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2017, 10: 658.

DOI：10.3389/fnhum.2016.00658

• alpha oscillations
• coherence
• connectivity
• transcranial alternating current stimulation
• visual attention

A frontoparietal network has long been implicated in top-down control of attention. Recent studies have suggested that this network might communicate through coherence in the alpha band. Here we aimed to test the effect of coherent alpha (8-12 Hz) stimulation on the frontoparietal network. To this end, we recorded behavioral performance and electroencephalography (EEG) data while participants were engaged in a spatial attention task. Furthermore, participants received transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over the right frontal and parietal cortex, which oscillated coherently in-phase within the alpha band. Compared to a group of participants that received sham stimulation, we found that coherent frontoparietal alpha band stimulation altered a behavioral spatial attention bias. Neurally, the groups showed hemispheric specific differences in alpha coherence between the frontal and parietal-occipital cortex. These results provide preliminary evidence that alpha coherence in the frontoparietal network might play a role in top-down control of spatial attention.

• 出版日期2017-1-24