Belluscio Valeria, Cartocci Giulia, Terbojevich Tommaso, Di Feo Paolo, Inguscio Bianca Maria Serena, Ferrari Marco, Quaresima Valentina, Vannozzi Giuseppe
Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, Interuniversity Centre of Bioengineering of the Human Neuromusculoskeletal System, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Rome, Italy.
Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
Front Neurosci. 2023 Jun 22;17:1197733. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1197733. eCollection 2023.
Auditory stimulation activates brain areas associated with higher cognitive processes, like the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and plays a role in postural control regulation. However, the effects of specific frequency stimuli on upright posture maintenance and PFC activation patterns remain unknown. Therefore, the study aims at filling this gap. Twenty healthy adults performed static double- and single-leg stance tasks of 60s each under four auditory conditions: 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 Hz, binaurally delivered through headphones, and in quiet condition. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to measure PFC activation through changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration, while an inertial sensor (sealed at the L5 vertebra level) quantified postural sway parameters. Perceived discomfort and pleasantness were rated through a 0-100 visual analogue scale (VAS). Results showed that in both motor tasks, different PFC activation patterns were displayed at the different auditory frequencies and the postural performance worsened with auditory stimuli, compared to quiet conditions. VAS results showed that higher frequencies were considered more discomfortable than lower ones. Present data prove that specific sound frequencies play a significant role in cognitive resources recruitment and in the regulation of postural control. Furthermore, it supports the importance of exploring the relationship among tones, cortical activity, and posture, also considering possible applications with neurological populations and people with hearing dysfunctions.
听觉刺激会激活与更高认知过程相关的脑区，如前额叶皮质（PFC），并在姿势控制调节中发挥作用。然而，特定频率刺激对直立姿势维持和PFC激活模式的影响仍不清楚。因此，本研究旨在填补这一空白。20名健康成年人在四种听觉条件下分别进行了60秒的静态双腿和单腿站立任务：通过耳机双耳传递的500、1000、1500和2000赫兹，以及安静条件。功能近红外光谱用于通过氧合血红蛋白浓度的变化来测量PFC激活，而惯性传感器（密封在L5椎骨水平）则量化姿势摆动参数。通过0至100的视觉模拟量表（VAS）对感知到的不适和愉悦程度进行评分。结果表明，在两项运动任务中，不同听觉频率下呈现出不同的PFC激活模式，与安静条件相比，听觉刺激会使姿势表现变差。VAS结果显示，高频比低频更让人感觉不适。目前的数据证明，特定的声音频率在认知资源募集和姿势控制调节中起着重要作用。此外，这也支持了探索音调、皮层活动和姿势之间关系的重要性，同时还考虑了对神经疾病患者和听力功能障碍者的可能应用。
