Luo Yu, Zhang Jicong
School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China.
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data-Based Precision Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China.
Brain Sci. 2020 Sep 30;10(10):695. doi: 10.3390/brainsci10100695.
Sustained attention is crucial for higher-order cognition and real-world activities. The idea that tactile training improves sustained attention is appealing and has clinical significance. The aim of this study was to explore whether tactile training could improve visual sustained attention. Using 128-channel electroencephalography (EEG), we found that participants with tactile training outperformed non-trainees in the accuracy and calculation efficiency measured by the Math task. Furthermore, trainees demonstrated significantly decreased omission error measured by the sustained attention to response task (SART). We also found that the improvements in behavioral performance were associated with parietal P300 amplitude enhancements. EEG source imaging analyses revealed stronger brain activation among the trainees in the prefrontal and sensorimotor regions at P300. These results suggest that the tactile training can improve sustained attention in young adults, and the improved sustained attention following training may be due to more effective attentional resources allocation. Our findings also indicate the use of a noninvasive tactile training paradigm to improve cognitive functions (e.g., sustained attention) in young adults, potentially leading to new training and rehabilitative protocols.
持续注意力对于高阶认知和现实世界的活动至关重要。触觉训练能改善持续注意力这一观点很有吸引力且具有临床意义。本研究的目的是探讨触觉训练是否能改善视觉持续注意力。通过128通道脑电图（EEG），我们发现接受触觉训练的参与者在数学任务所测量的准确性和计算效率方面优于未受训者。此外，受训者在持续注意力反应任务（SART）所测量的遗漏错误方面显著减少。我们还发现行为表现的改善与顶叶P300波幅增强有关。EEG源成像分析显示，在P300时，受训者在前额叶和感觉运动区域的大脑激活更强。这些结果表明，触觉训练可以改善年轻人的持续注意力，训练后持续注意力的改善可能是由于更有效的注意力资源分配。我们的研究结果还表明，使用非侵入性触觉训练范式可改善年轻人的认知功能（如持续注意力），这可能会带来新的训练和康复方案。
