Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2022 Aug;23(8):459-475. doi: 10.1038/s41583-022-00598-1. Epub 2022 May 16.
Invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation methods are widely used in neuroscience to establish causal relationships between distinct brain regions and the sensory, cognitive and motor functions they subserve. When combined with concurrent brain imaging, such stimulation methods can reveal patterns of neuronal activity responsible for regulating simple and complex behaviours at the level of local circuits and across widespread networks. Understanding how fluctuations in physiological states and task demands might influence the effects of brain stimulation on neural activity and behaviour is at the heart of how we use these tools to understand cognition. Here we review the concept of such 'state-dependent' changes in brain activity in response to neural stimulation, and consider examples from research on altered states of consciousness (for example, sleep and anaesthesia) and from task-based manipulations of selective attention and working memory. We relate relevant findings from non-invasive methods used in humans to those obtained from direct electrical and optogenetic stimulation of neuronal ensembles in animal models. Given the widespread use of brain stimulation as a research tool in the laboratory and as a means of augmenting or restoring brain function, consideration of the influence of changing physiological and cognitive states is crucial for increasing the reliability of these interventions.
在神经科学中，侵入性和非侵入性的脑刺激方法被广泛用于建立不同脑区与它们所服务的感觉、认知和运动功能之间的因果关系。当与同时进行的脑成像相结合时，这些刺激方法可以揭示负责调节局部回路和广泛网络中简单和复杂行为的神经元活动模式。理解生理状态和任务需求的波动如何影响脑刺激对神经活动和行为的影响，是我们如何利用这些工具来理解认知的核心。在这里，我们回顾了针对脑活动的这种“状态依赖性”变化的概念，这些变化是对神经刺激的反应，并考虑了来自改变意识状态（例如睡眠和麻醉）和基于任务的选择性注意和工作记忆操纵的研究中的例子。我们将人类中使用的非侵入性方法的相关发现与动物模型中对神经元集合的直接电和光遗传学刺激所获得的发现联系起来。鉴于脑刺激作为实验室研究工具以及增强或恢复脑功能的手段的广泛应用，考虑生理和认知状态变化的影响对于提高这些干预措施的可靠性至关重要。
