Bihemispheric anodal transcranial direct-current stimulation over temporal cortex enhances auditory selective spatial attention

The capacity to selectively focus on a particular speaker of interest in a complex acoustic environment with multiple persons speaking simultaneously—a so-called “cocktail-party” situation—is of decisive importance for human verbal communication. Here, the efficacy of single-dose transcranial direct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental brain research 2019-06, Vol.237 (6), p.1539-1549
Main Author: Lewald, Jörg
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Attention
Attention - physiology
Auditory cortex
Auditory perception
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Brain research
Cross-Over Studies
Electrical stimulation of the brain
Electrodes
ESB
Female
Humans
Localization
Magnetic brain stimulation
Male
Methods
Neurology
Neurosciences
Orientation behavior
Physiological aspects
Placebos
Research Article
Sound Localization - physiology
Space Perception - physiology
Temporal lobe
Temporal Lobe - physiology
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Young Adult
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Summary:The capacity to selectively focus on a particular speaker of interest in a complex acoustic environment with multiple persons speaking simultaneously—a so-called “cocktail-party” situation—is of decisive importance for human verbal communication. Here, the efficacy of single-dose transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) in improving this ability was tested in young healthy adults ( n  = 24), using a spatial task that required the localization of a target word in a simulated “cocktail-party” situation. In a sham-controlled crossover design, offline bihemispheric double-monopolar anodal tDCS was applied for 30 min at 1 mA over auditory regions of temporal lobe, and the participant’s performance was assessed prior to tDCS, immediately after tDCS, and 1 h after tDCS. A significant increase in the amount of correct localizations by on average 3.7 percentage points ( d  = 1.04) was found after active, relative to sham, tDCS, with only insignificant reduction of the effect within 1 h after tDCS offset. Thus, the method of bihemispheric tDCS could be a promising tool for enhancement of human auditory attentional functions that are relevant for spatial orientation and communication in everyday life.
ISSN:0014-4819
1432-1106
DOI:10.1007/s00221-019-05525-y