Abstract
The present study examined the mutual influence of cortical neuroenhancement and allocation of spatial attention on perception. Specifically, it explored the effects of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on visual acuity measured with a Landolt gap task and attentional precues. The exogenous cues were used to draw attention either to the location of the target or away from it, generating significant performance benefits and costs. Anodal tDCS applied to posterior occipital area for 15 min improved performance during stimulation, reflecting heightened visual acuity. Reaction times were lower, and accuracy was higher in the tDCS group, compared to a sham control group. Additionally, in post-stimulation trials tDCS significantly interacted with the effect of precuing. Reaction times were lower in valid cued trials (benefit) and higher in invalid trials (cost) compared to neutrally cued trials, the effect which was pronounced stronger in tDCS group than in sham control group. The increase of cost and benefit effects in the tDCS group was of a similar magnitude, suggesting that anodal tDCS influenced the overall process of attention orienting. The observed interaction between the stimulation of the visual cortex and precueing indicates a magnification of attention modulation.
Highlights
We grow and learn through interaction with the world we live in
Response time for correct answers only was taken into account, and outliers were omitted beyond 2 SD for each participant in each block
The results indicate that both cost and benefit effects were more pronounced in transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) group compared to sham control group, highlighting the differences in attention allocation between the two groups
Summary
We grow and learn through interaction with the world we live in. Efficient perception of our surrounding lays a keystone for cognition, decision making, and proceeding actions. Making sense of a visual scene we detect and identify information which holds a potential to promote our thinking To enable this challenging process, visual attention serves as a guide for exploration, stretching a thread between the objective input and the subjective goals. Eliminating alternative explanations (i.e., diminished spatial uncertainty and changes in decisional factors) the authors deduced that allocation of attention to the target location enhances visual acuity, improving the quality of sensory representation. Following this line of research, Montagna et al (2009) studied the effects of covert attention on
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