title: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) traces the predominance of the left auditory cortex for processing of rapidly changing acoustic information.
abstract: In the present study we investigated the effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the auditory cortex (AC) on the perception of rapidly changing acoustic cues. For this purpose, in 15 native German speakers the left or right AC was separately stimulated while participants performed a between-channel gap detection task. Results show that stimulation of the left but not right AC deteriorated the auditory perception of rapidly changing acoustic information. Our data indicate a left hemispheric dominance for the processing of rapid temporal cues in auditory non-speech sounds. Moreover, we demonstrate the ability of non-invasive brain stimulation to change human temporal information processing in the auditory domain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Leipziger Straße 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heimrath
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Leipziger Straße 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuehne
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Leipziger Straße 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: H-J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Heinze
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Leipziger Straße 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany. Electronic address: tino.zaehle@ovgu.de.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zaehle
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: auditory cortex; auditory temporal resolution; gap detection; hemispheric lateralization; tDCS