Visual spatial attention influences plasticity in the human motor cortex

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Visual spatial attention influences plasticity in the human motor cortex Marc R. Kamke1*, Alexander Ryan2, Martin V. Sale1, Stephan Riek3, Timothy J. Carroll3 and Jason B. Mattingley1, 2 1 The University of Queensland, The Queensland Brain Institute, Australia 2 The University of Queensland, School of Psychology, Australia 3 The University of Queensland, School of Human Movement Studies, Australia It is well established that changes in the structural and functional organisation of the brain, or plasticity, play a fundamental role in adaptation, learning and memory. It is also well known that mechanisms of spatial attention can dramatically alter ongoing brain activity, but the influence of attention on plasticity is poorly understood. In this study we investigated the capacity for visual spatial attention to modify plasticity induced by external stimulation of the human motor cortex. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and a paired associative stimulation procedure, which induces long-term potentiation-like plasticity, were used to alter functional responses in the thumb area of the primary motor cortex. During the induction of plasticity, participants focused their attention on one of two visual stimulus streams located adjacent to each hand. Single-pulse TMS and motor evoked potentials were used to assess changes in neural excitability induced by the plasticity procedure. When participants attended to visual stimuli located near the left thumb, which was targeted by the plasticity intervention, the amplitude of motor evoked potentials was significantly enhanced relative to when they attended instead to stimuli located near the right thumb. The findings suggest that voluntary attention can potentiate functional plasticity in the human cortex, and thus have important implications for neurorehabilitation. Acknowledgements This work was supported by a Project Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (#APP1028210), and by a bequest made to the University of Queensland by The Estate of Dr Salvatore Vitale. Keywords: Paired associative stimulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, plasticity, spatial attention, Motor Cortex Conference: ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 29 Nov - 2 Dec, 2012. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Attention Citation: Kamke MR, Ryan A, Sale MV, Riek S, Carroll TJ and Mattingley JB (2012). Visual spatial attention influences plasticity in the human motor cortex. Conference Abstract: ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2012.208.00153 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 10 Oct 2012; Published Online: 17 Nov 2012. * Correspondence: Dr. Marc R Kamke, The University of Queensland, The Queensland Brain Institute, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia, m.kamke@uq.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Marc R Kamke Alexander Ryan Martin V Sale Stephan Riek Timothy J Carroll Jason B Mattingley Google Marc R Kamke Alexander Ryan Martin V Sale Stephan Riek Timothy J Carroll Jason B Mattingley Google Scholar Marc R Kamke Alexander Ryan Martin V Sale Stephan Riek Timothy J Carroll Jason B Mattingley PubMed Marc R Kamke Alexander Ryan Martin V Sale Stephan Riek Timothy J Carroll Jason B Mattingley Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.