Effect of Visuospatial Attention on the Sensorimotor Gating System.

Daisuke Ishii,Yutaka Kohno,Arito Yozu,Kenya Tanamachi,Akira Noguchi,Kotaro Takeda,Kiyoshige Ishibashi,Satoshi Yamamoto

doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00001

Abstract

The integration of multiple sensory modalities allows us to adapt to the environment of the outside world. It is widely known that visual stimuli interfere with the processing of auditory information, which is involved in the ability to pay attention. Additionally, visuospatial attention has the characteristic of laterality. It is unclear whether this laterality of visuospatial attention affects the processing of auditory stimuli. The sensorimotor gating system is a neurological process, which filters out unnecessary stimuli from environmental stimuli in the brain. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is an operational measure of the sensorimotor gating system, which a weaker prestimulus (prepulse), such as a visual stimulus, inhibits the startle reflex elicited by a subsequent robust startling stimulus (pulse) such as a tone. Therefore, we investigated whether the visual stimulus from the left or right visual space affects the sensorimotor gating system in a “rest” task (low attentional condition) and a “selective attention” task (high attentional condition). In the selective attention task, we found that the target prepulse presented in the left and bilateral visual fields suppressed the startle reflex more than that presented in the right visual field. By contrast, there was no laterality of PPI in the no-target prepulse condition, and there was no laterality of PPI in the rest task. These results suggest that the laterality of visuospatial attention affects the sensorimotor gating system depending on the attentional condition. Moreover, the process of visual information processing may differ between the left and right brain.

Highlights

We recognize the environment of the outside world through multiple sensory modalities, such as the visual and auditory modalities
We investigated whether visual stimuli from the left or right visual space affect the sensorimotor gating system using two tasks, a “rest” task and a “selective attention” task
This study revealed that the lower %Prepulse inhibition (PPI) could be shown only in the prepulse presented in the right visual field in the selective attention task

Summary

Introduction

We recognize the environment of the outside world through multiple sensory modalities, such as the visual and auditory modalities. Adaptation to the environment is achieved by integrating these multiple sensory modalities. The right hemisphere plays an important role in visuospatial and auditory attention (Kinsbourne, 1977; Corbetta et al, 1993; Thiebaut de Schotten et al, 2011; Duecker and Sack, 2015). Laterality of the Sensorimotor Gating System cerebral hemisphere, which causes visual neglect of the left visual space (Stone et al, 1992). These studies have indicated that the visuospatial attention exhibits laterality

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Conclusion