Behavioral gain following isolation of attention

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 19329
• Main Authors: Edwards, Grace, Berestova, Anna, Battelli, Lorella
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 29.09.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/378; 631/477; Adult; Attention; Attention - physiology; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders - rehabilitation; Attention task; Electroencephalography; Female; Functional Laterality - physiology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Information processing; Long-term potentiation; Male; multidisciplinary; Photic Stimulation - methods; Proof of Concept Study; Reaction Time; Rehabilitation; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sensory integration; Sensory perception; Visual field; Visual Fields - physiology; Visual perception; Visual Perception - physiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98670-w

Stable sensory perception is achieved through balanced excitatory-inhibitory interactions of lateralized sensory processing. In real world experience, sensory processing is rarely equal across lateralized processing regions, resulting in continuous rebalancing. Using lateralized attention as a case study, we predicted rebalancing lateralized processing following prolonged spatial attention imbalance could cause a gain in attention in the opposite direction. In neurotypical human adults, we isolated covert attention to one visual field with a 30-min attention-demanding task and found an increase in attention in the opposite visual field after manipulation. We suggest a gain in lateralized attention in the previously unattended visual field is due to an overshoot through attention rebalancing. The offline post-manipulation effect is suggestive of long-term potentiation affecting behavior. Our finding of visual field specific attention increase could be critical for the development of clinical rehabilitation for patients with a unilateral lesion and lateralized attention deficits. This proof-of-concept study initiates the examination of overshoot following the release of imbalance in other lateralized control and sensory domains, important in our basic understanding of lateralized processing.