Blanco Nathaniel J, Saucedo Celeste L, Gonzalez-Lima F
Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
Department of Psychology and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2017 Mar;139:69-75. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2016.12.016. Epub 2016 Dec 27.
This is the first randomized, controlled study comparing the cognitive effects of transcranial laser stimulation on category learning tasks. Transcranial infrared laser stimulation is a new non-invasive form of brain stimulation that shows promise for wide-ranging experimental and neuropsychological applications. It involves using infrared laser to enhance cerebral oxygenation and energy metabolism through upregulation of the respiratory enzyme cytochrome oxidase, the primary infrared photon acceptor in cells. Previous research found that transcranial infrared laser stimulation aimed at the prefrontal cortex can improve sustained attention, short-term memory, and executive function. In this study, we directly investigated the influence of transcranial infrared laser stimulation on two neurobiologically dissociable systems of category learning: a prefrontal cortex mediated reflective system that learns categories using explicit rules, and a striatally mediated reflexive learning system that forms gradual stimulus-response associations. Participants (n=118) received either active infrared laser to the lateral prefrontal cortex or sham (placebo) stimulation, and then learned one of two category structures-a rule-based structure optimally learned by the reflective system, or an information-integration structure optimally learned by the reflexive system. We found that prefrontal rule-based learning was substantially improved following transcranial infrared laser stimulation as compared to placebo (treatment X block interaction: F(1, 298)=5.117, p=0.024), while information-integration learning did not show significant group differences (treatment X block interaction: F(1, 288)=1.633, p=0.202). These results highlight the exciting potential of transcranial infrared laser stimulation for cognitive enhancement and provide insight into the neurobiological underpinnings of category learning.
这是第一项比较经颅激光刺激对类别学习任务认知影响的随机对照研究。经颅红外激光刺激是一种新的非侵入性脑刺激形式，在广泛的实验和神经心理学应用中显示出前景。它涉及使用红外激光通过上调呼吸酶细胞色素氧化酶（细胞中的主要红外光子受体）来增强脑氧合和能量代谢。先前的研究发现，针对前额叶皮层的经颅红外激光刺激可以改善持续注意力、短期记忆和执行功能。在本研究中，我们直接研究了经颅红外激光刺激对类别学习的两个神经生物学上可分离系统的影响：一个由前额叶皮层介导的反射系统，该系统使用明确规则学习类别；以及一个由纹状体介导的反射性学习系统，该系统形成逐渐的刺激-反应关联。参与者（n = 118）接受对外侧前额叶皮层的主动红外激光刺激或假（安慰剂）刺激，然后学习两种类别结构之一——一种由反射系统最佳学习的基于规则的结构，或一种由反射性系统最佳学习的信息整合结构。我们发现，与安慰剂相比，经颅红外激光刺激后基于前额叶规则的学习有显著改善（治疗×组块交互作用：F(1, 298)=5.117，p = 0.024），而信息整合学习未显示出显著的组间差异（治疗×组块交互作用：F(1, 288)=1.633，p = 0.202）。这些结果突出了经颅红外激光刺激在认知增强方面令人兴奋的潜力，并为类别学习的神经生物学基础提供了见解。
