Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Scientific Reports
PubMed ID
30858404
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
RAS ID
31225
Grant Number
ARC Number : CE140100007
Abstract
Random noise can enhance the detectability of weak signals in nonlinear systems, a phenomenon known as stochastic resonance (SR). This concept is not only applicable to single threshold systems but can also be applied to dynamical systems with multiple attractor states, such as observed during the phenomenon of binocular rivalry. Binocular rivalry can be characterized by marginally stable attractor states between which the brain switches in a spontaneous, stochastic manner. Here we used a computational model to predict the effect of noise on perceptual dominance durations. Subsequently we compared the model prediction to a series of experiments where we measured binocular rivalry dynamics when noise (zero-mean Gaussian random noise) was added either to the visual stimulus (Exp. 1) or directly to the visual cortex (Exp. 2) by applying transcranial Random Noise Stimulation (tRNS 1 mA, 100–640 Hz zero -mean Gaussian random noise). We found that adding noise significantly reduced the mixed percept duration (Exp. 1 and Exp. 2). Our results are the first to demonstrate that both central and peripheral noise can influence state-switching dynamics of binocular rivalry under specific conditions (e.g. low visual contrast stimuli), in line with a SR-mechanism. © 2019, The Author(s).
DOI
10.1038/s41598-019-40335-w
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Van der Groen, O., Mattingley, J. B., & Wenderoth, N. (2019). Altering brain dynamics with transcranial random noise stimulation. Scientific reports, 9(1), 4029.
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