Enhancement of object detection with transcranial direct current stimulation is associated with increased attention

BMC Neuroscience

Vincent P Clark²  Michael C Trumbo¹  Brian A Coffman² 

[1] Clinical Neuroscience Center, Dept. Psychology, University of New Mexico, MSC03-2220, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1161, USA;The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, 1101 Yale NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA

关键词: Attention networks test;    Alerting;    Attention;    Brain stimulation;    Visual search;    Object detection;    Frontal Cortex;    tDCS;    Learning;   

Others  :  1141010
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2202-13-108

 received in 2012-04-24, accepted in 2012-07-19,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

We previously found that Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) improves learning and performance in a task where subjects learn to detect potential threats indicated by small target objects hidden in a complex virtual environment. In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that these effects on learning and performance are related to changes in attention. The effects of tDCS were tested for three forms of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive attention) using the Attention Network Task (ANT), which were compared with performance on the object-learning task.

Results

Participants received either 0.1 mA (N = 10) or 2.0 mA (N = 9) tDCS during training and were tested for performance in object-identification before training (baseline-test) and again immediately after training (immediate test). Participants next performed the Attention Networks Task (ANT), and were later tested for object-identification performance a final time (delayed test). Alerting, but not orienting or executive attention, was significantly higher for participants receiving 2.0 mA compared with 0.1 mA tDCS (p < 0.02). Furthermore, alerting scores were significantly correlated with the proportion of hits (p < 0.01) for participants receiving 2.0 mA.

Conclusions

These results indicate that tDCS enhancement of performance in this task may be related in part to the enhancement of alerting attention, which may benefit the initial identification, learning and/or subsequent recognition of target objects indicating potential threats.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Coffman et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Rigonatti SP, Boggio PS, Myczkowski ML, Otta E, Fiquer JT, Ribeiro RB, Nitsche MA, Pascual-Leone A, Fregni F: Transcranial direct stimulation and fluoxetine for the treatment of depression. Eur Psychiat 2008, 23:74-76.
• [2]Webster BR, Celnik PA, Cohen LG: Noninvasive brain stimulation in stroke rehabilitation. NeuroRx 2006, 3:474-481.
• [3]Fregni F, Boggio PS, Nitsche M, Bermpohl F, Antal A, Feredoes E, Marcolin MA, Rigonatti SP, Silva MTA, Paulus W: Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of prefrontal cortex enhances working memory. Exp Brain Res 2005, 166:23-30.
• [4]Antal A, Nitsche MA, Kincses TZ, Kruse W, Hoffmann KP, Paulus W: Facilitation of visuo-motor learning by transcranial direct current stimulation of the motor and extrastriate visual areas in humans. Eur J Neurosci 2004, 19:2888-2892.
• [5]Galea JM, Celnik P: Brain polarization enhances the formation and retention of motor memories. J Neurophys 2009, 102:294.
• [6]Reis J, Robertson E, Krakauer JW, Rothwell J, Marshall L, Gerloff C, Wassermann E, Pascual-Leone A, Hummel F, Celnik PA, Classen J, Floel A, Ziemann U, Paulus W, Siebner HR, Born J, Cohen LG: Consensus: “Can tDCS and TMS enhance motor learning and memory formation?”. Brain Stimul 2008, 1:363.
• [7]Reis J, Schambra HM, Cohen LG, Buch ER, Fritsch B, Zarahn E, Celnik PA, Krakauer JW: Noninvasive cortical stimulation enhances motor skill acquisition over multiple days through an effect on consolidation. P Natl A Sci 2009, 106:1590.
• [8]Ragert P, Vandermeeren Y, Camus M, Cohen LG: Improvement of spatial tactile acuity by transcranial direct current stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol 2008, 119:805-811.
• [9]Marshall L, Molle M, Hallschmid M, Born J: Transcranial direct current stimulation during sleep improves declarative memory. J Neurosci 2004, 24:9985.
• [10]Clark VP, Coffman BA, Mayer AR, Weisend MP, Lane TD, Calhoun VD, Raybourn EM, Garcia CM, Wassermann EM: TDCS guided using fMRI significantly accelerates learning to identify concealed objects. Neuroimage 2012, 59:117-128.
• [11]Coffman BA, Garcia CM, Van der Merwe A, Barrow R, Calhoun VD, Puffer D, Raybourn EM, Wassermann EM, Weisend MP, Clark VP: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) Accelerated Learning of Covert Threat Detection is influenced by Current Strength and Stimulus Novelty. Neuropsychologiain press
• [12]Falcone B, Coffman BA, Clark VP, Parasuraman R: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Augments Perceptual Sensitivity and 24-Hour Retention in a Complex Threat Detection Task. PLoS Onein press
• [13]Iyer MB, Mattu U, Grafman J, Lomarev M, Sato S, Wassermann EM: Safety and cognitive effect of frontal DC brain polarization in healthy individuals. Neurology 2005, 64:872-875.
• [14]Clark VP, Coffman BA, Trumbo MC, Gasparovic C: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) produces localized and specific alterations in neurochemistry: A 1 H magnetic resonance spectroscopy study. Neurosci Lett 2011, 500:67-71.
• [15]Fan J, McCandliss BD, Sommer T, Raz A, Posner MI: Testing the efficiency and independence of attentional networks. J Cogn Neurosci 2002, 14:340-347.
• [16]Posner MI: Orienting of attention. Q J Exp Psychol 1980, 32:3-25.
• [17]Eriksen BA, Eriksen CW: Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task. Atten Percept Psycho 1974, 16:143-149.
• [18]Posner MI, Petersen SE: The attention system of the human brain. Annu Rev Nurosci 1990, 13:25-42.
• [19]Fan J, Posner M: Human attentional networks. Psychiat Prax 2004, 31:S210-S214.
• [20]Coull JT, Nobre AC, Frith CD: The noradrenergic α2 agonist clonidine modulates behavioural and neuroanatomical correlates of human attentional orienting and alerting. Cereb Cortex 2001, 11:73-84.
• [21]Fan J, McCandliss BD, Fossella J, Flombaum JI, Posner MI: The activation of attentional networks. Neuroimage 2005, 26:471-479.
• [22]Bush G, Luu P, Posner MI: Cognitive and emotional influences in anterior cingulate cortex. Trends Cogn Sci 2000, 4:215-222.
• [23]Coull JT, Frackowiak RSJ, Frith CD: Monitoring for target objects: activation of right frontal and parietal cortices with increasing time on task. Neuropsychologia 1998, 36:1325-1334.
• [24]Coull JT, Frith CD, Frackowiak RS, Grasby PM: A fronto-parietal network for rapid visual information processing: a PET study of sustained attention and working memory. Neuropsychologia 1996, 34:1085-1095.
• [25]Facteau S, Pascual-Leone A, Zald DH, Liguori P, Theoret H, Boggio PS, Fregni F: Activation of prefrontal cortex by transcranial direct current stimulation reduces appetite for risk during ambiguous decision making. J Neurosci 2007, 27:6212-6218.
• [26]Rogosch FA, Cicchetti D: Child maltreatment, attention networks, and potential precursors to borderline personality disorder. Dev Psychopathol 2005, 17:1071-1089.
• [27]Bednarek DB, Saldaria D, Quintero-Gallego F, Garcia I, Grabowska A, Gomez CM: Attentional deficit in dyslexia: A general or specific impairment? Neuroreport 2004, 15:1787-1790.
• [28]Wang K, Fan J, Dong Y, Wang C, Lee TMC, Posner MI: Selective impairment of attentional networks of orienting and executive control in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2005, 78:235-241.
• [29]Adolfsdottir S, Sorensen L, Lundervold A: The attention network test: A characteristic pattern of deficits in children with ADHD. Behav Brain Funct 2008, 4:9. BioMed Central Full Text
• [30]Murphy CF, Alexopoulos GS: Attention network dysfunction and treatment response of geriatric depression. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2006, 28:96-100.
• [31]Jennings JM, Dagenbach D, Engle CM, Funke LJ: Age-related changes and the attention network task: An examination of alerting, orienting, and executive function. Aging Neuropsychol 2007, 14:353-369.
• [32]Booth JE, Carlson CL, Tucker DM: Performance on a neurocognitive measure of alerting differentiates ADHD combined and inattentive subtypes: A preliminary report. Arch Clin Neuropsych 2007, 22:423-432.
• [33]Oldfield RC: The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia 1971, 9:97-113.
• [34]MacMillan J, Tomlinson R, Alexander AL, Weil SA, Littleton B, Aptima I: DARWARS: An Architecture That Supports Effective Experiential Training. DARWARS Research Papers 2005. http://www.darwars.com/downloads/2005%20IITSEC%20White%20Paper%20v2.pdf webcite
• [35]Liebetanz D, Nitsche MA, Tergau F, Paulus W: Pharmacological approach to the mechanisms of transcranial DC-stimulation-induced after-effects of human motor cortex excitability. Brain 2002, 125:2238-2247.
• [36]Poreisz C, Boros K, Antal A, Paulus W: Safety aspects of transcranial direct current stimulation concerning healthy participants and patients. Brain Res Bulletin 2007, 72:208-214.
• [37]Miranda PC, Faria P, Hallett M: What does the ratio of injected current to electrode area tell us about current density in the brain during tDCS? Clin Neurophysiol 2009, 120:1183-1187.
• [38]Nitsche MA, Paulus W: Excitability changes induced in the human motor cortex by weak transcranial direct current stimulation. J Physiol 2000, 527:633-639.
• [39]Stanislaw H, Todorov N: Calculation of signal detection theory measures. Beh Res Meth Instr 1999, 31:137-149.