Cochlear activity in silent cue-target intervals shows a theta-rhythmic pattern and is correlated to attentional alpha and theta modulations

AbstractBackgroundA long-standing debate concerns where in the processing hierarchy of the central nervous system (CNS) selective attention takes effect. In the auditory system, cochlear processes can be influenced via direct and mediated (by the inferior colliculus) projections from the auditory cortex to the superior olivary complex (SOC). Studies illustrating attentional modulations of cochlear responses have so far been limited to sound-evoked responses. The aim of the present study is to investigate intermodal (audiovisual) selective attention in humans simultaneously at the cortical and cochlear level during a stimulus-free cue-target interval.ResultsWe found that cochlear activity in the silent cue-target intervals was modulated by a theta-rhythmic pattern (~ 6 Hz). While this pattern was present independently of attentional focus, cochlear theta activity was clearly enhanced when attending to the upcoming auditory input. On a cortical level, classical posterior alpha and beta power enhancements were found during auditory selective attention. Interestingly, participants with a stronger release of inhibition in auditory brain regions show a stronger attentional modulation of cochlear theta activity.ConclusionsThese results hint at a putative theta-rhythmic sampling of auditory input at the cochlear level. Furthermore, our results point to an interindividual variable engagement of efferent pathways in an attentional context that are linked to processes within and beyond processes in auditory cortical regions.

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Cochlear activity in silent cue-target intervals shows a theta-rhythmic pattern and is correlated to attentional alpha modulations

10.1101/653311 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Moritz Herbert Albrecht Köhler ◽

Gianpaolo Demarchi ◽

Nathan Weisz

Keyword(s):

Selective Attention ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Attentional Focus ◽

Theta Activity ◽

Superior Olivary Complex ◽

Rhythmic Pattern ◽

Auditory Input ◽

Auditory Selective Attention ◽

Beta Power ◽

Cortical Regions

AbstractA long-standing debate concerns where in the processing hierarchy of the central nervous system (CNS) selective attention takes effect. In the auditory system cochlear processes can be influenced via direct and mediated (by the inferior colliculus) projections from the auditory cortex to the superior olivary complex (SOC). Studies illustrating attentional modulations of cochlear responses have so far been limited to sound-evoked responses. The aim of the present study is to investigate intermodal (audiovisual) selective attention in humans simultaneously at the cortical and cochlear level during a stimulus-free cue-target period. We found that cochlear activity in the silent cue-target periods was modulated by a theta-rhythmic pattern (∼6 Hz). While this pattern was present independently of attentional focus, cochlear theta activity was clearly enhanced when attending to the upcoming auditory input. On a cortical level, classical posterior alpha and beta power enhancements were found during auditory selective attention. Interestingly, participants with a stronger release of inhibition in auditory brain regions show a stronger attentional modulation of cochlear theta activity. These results hint at a putative theta-rhythmic sampling of auditory input at the cochlear level. Furthermore, our results point to an interindividual variable engagement of efferent pathways in an attentional context that are linked to processes within and beyond processes in auditory cortical regions.

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Electrophysiological evidence for sequential activation of multiple brain regions during the auditory selective attention process in humans

Neuroreport ◽

10.1097/00001756-199912160-00021 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 10 (18) ◽

pp. 3837-3842 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

K Kasai ◽

K Nakagome ◽

K Itoh ◽

I Koshida ◽

M Fukuda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Selective Attention ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Auditory Selective Attention ◽

Electrophysiological Evidence ◽

Attention Process ◽

Sequential Activation

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Auditory Selective Attention Reveals Preparatory Activity in Different Cortical Regions for Selection Based on Source Location and Source Pitch

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2012.00190 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Adrian K. C. Lee ◽

Siddharth Rajaram ◽

Jing Xia ◽

Hari Bharadwaj ◽

Eric Larson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Selective Attention ◽

Source Location ◽

Auditory Selective Attention ◽

Preparatory Activity ◽

Cortical Regions

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Convergence of modality invariance and attention selectivity in the cortical semantic circuit

10.1101/2020.06.19.160960 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Tomoya Nakai ◽

Hiroto Q. Yamaguchi ◽

Shinji Nishimoto

Keyword(s):

Selective Attention ◽

Functional Mri ◽

Sensory Input ◽

Semantic Information ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Semantic Features ◽

Attentional Modulation ◽

Input Modality ◽

Linguistic System ◽

Cortical Regions

AbstractThe human linguistic system is characterized by modality invariance and attention selectivity. Previous studies have examined these properties independently and reported perisylvian region involvement for both; however, their relationship and the linguistic information they harbor remain unknown. Participants were assessed by functional MRI, while spoken narratives (auditory) and written texts (visual) were presented, either separately or simultaneously. Participants were asked to attend to one stimulus when both were presented. We extracted phonemic and semantic features from these auditory and visual modalities, to train multiple, voxel-wise encoding models. Cross-modal examinations of the trained models revealed that perisylvian regions were associated with modality-invariant semantic representations. Attentional modulation was quantified by examining the modeling performance for attended and unattended conditions. We have determined that perisylvian regions exhibited attention selectivity. Both modality invariance and attention selectivity are both prominent in models that use semantic but not phonemic features. Modality invariance was significantly correlated with attention selectivity in some brain regions; however, we also identified cortical regions associated with only modality invariance or only attention selectivity. Thus, paying selective attention to a specific sensory input modality may regulate the semantic information that is partly processed in brain networks that are shared across modalities.

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Auditory Selective Attention in Cerebral-Palsied Individuals

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.1604.260 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 260-266 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Lee Ann Laraway

Keyword(s):

Selective Attention ◽

White Noise ◽

Normal Subjects ◽

Auditory Selective Attention ◽

Normal Individuals ◽

Significant Difference

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference between the auditory selective attention abilities of normal and cerebral-palsied individuals. Twenty-three cerebral-palsied and 23 normal subjects between the ages of 5 and 21 were asked to repeat a series of 30 items consisting of from 2 to 4 digits in the presence of intermittent white noise. Results of the study indicate that cerebral-palsied individuals perform significantly poorer than normal individuals when the stimulus is accompanied by noise. Noise was not a significant factor in the performance of the normal subjects regardless of age.

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Sensory and Cognitive Components of Auditory Processing in Individuals With Tinnitus

American Journal of Audiology ◽

10.1044/2019_aja-19-0011 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 834-842

Author(s):

Harini Vasudevan ◽

Hari Prakash Palaniswamy ◽

Ramaswamy Balakrishnan

Keyword(s):

Selective Attention ◽

Auditory Processing ◽

Function Analysis ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Oscillatory Activity ◽

Default Mode ◽

Auditory Selective Attention ◽

Cognitive Components ◽

Mode Function ◽

Related Potentials

Purpose The main purpose of the study is to explore the auditory selective attention abilities (using event-related potentials) and the neuronal oscillatory activity in the default mode network sites (using electroencephalogram [EEG]) in individuals with tinnitus. Method Auditory selective attention was measured using P300, and the resting state EEG was assessed using the default mode function analysis. Ten individuals with continuous and bothersome tinnitus along with 10 age- and gender-matched control participants underwent event-related potential testing and 5 min of EEG recording (at wakeful rest). Results Individuals with tinnitus were observed to have larger N1 and P3 amplitudes along with prolonged P3 latency. The default mode function analysis revealed no significant oscillatory differences between the groups. Conclusion The current study shows changes in both the early sensory and late cognitive components of auditory processing. The change in the P3 component is suggestive of selective auditory attention deficit, and the sensory component (N1) suggests an altered bottom-up processing in individuals with tinnitus.

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