title: Effect of spatial attention on human sensorimotor integration studied by transcranial magnetic stimulation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies showed that the sensory input can decrease the motor cortex excitability (afferent inhibition). To clarify the effect of attention on sensorimotor integration, we investigated the effect of spatial attention on afferent inhibition.
  
  
  METHODS
  Right median nerve electrical stimulation followed, at variable delays (10-300 ms), by TMS over the left motor cortex was applied to 9 subjects, during 3 conditions; spatial attention to the right and left hand, and control (no attention) tasks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Inhibition of the motor evoked potential occurred at inter-stimulus interval of 20 and 100 ms, which was more was marked during spatial attention to the right than to the left hand.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Enhancement of the afferent inhibition induced by spatial attention to the stimulated side is likely to reflect the interaction between attention and sensorimotor integration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The spatial attention may modulate the sensorimotor integration studied by afferent inhibition of the MEP.
authors.affiliation: Human Brain Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Mamdouh Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kotb
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mima
authors.forename: Yoshino
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ueki
authors.forename: Tahamina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Begum
authors.forename: Amal Tawfik
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Khafagi
authors.forename: Hidenao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukuyama
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagamine
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004576:Electromyography; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation