Wilkinson David, Ferguson Heather J, Worley Alan
School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK.
Vis Neurosci. 2012 Sep;29(4-5):255-62. doi: 10.1017/S0952523812000235. Epub 2012 Jun 15.
Although galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) is known to affect the speed and accuracy of visual judgments, the underlying electrophysiological response has not been explored. In the present study, we therefore investigated the effect of GVS on the N170 event-related potential, a marker commonly associated with early visual structural encoding. To elicit the waveform, participants distinguished famous from nonfamous faces that were presented in either upright or inverted orientation. Relative to a sham, stimulation increased the amplitude of the N170 and also elevated power spectra within the delta and theta frequency bands, components that have likewise been associated with face processing. This study constitutes the first attempt to model the effects of GVS on the electrophysiological response and, more specifically, indicates that unisensory visual processes linked to object construction are influenced by vestibular information. Given that reductions in the magnitude of both the N170 event-related potential and delta/theta activity accompany certain disease states, GVS may provide hitherto unreported therapeutic benefit.
尽管已知电刺激前庭（GVS）会影响视觉判断的速度和准确性，但其潜在的电生理反应尚未得到探索。因此，在本研究中，我们调查了GVS对N170事件相关电位的影响，N170是一种通常与早期视觉结构编码相关的标志物。为了引出该波形，参与者区分呈现为正立或倒置方向的著名面孔和非著名面孔。相对于假刺激，刺激增加了N170的振幅，并且还提高了δ和θ频段内的功率谱，这些成分同样与面孔处理有关。本研究首次尝试模拟GVS对电生理反应的影响，更具体地说，表明与物体构建相关的单感觉视觉过程受前庭信息影响。鉴于N170事件相关电位的幅度以及δ/θ活动的降低与某些疾病状态相关，GVS可能提供迄今未报道的治疗益处。
