Hemispheric Dissociation Revealed by Attentional Isolation and tRNS

Abstract

Prolonged sensory imbalance, induced by directing attention to one visual field, can paradoxically enhance performance in the opposite, non-attended visual field. This effect is likely driven by the brains homeostatic mechanisms that regulate excitation and inhibition between hemispheres in homotopic attention processing regions. Here, we employed transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) to modulate cortical excitability and probe its role in interhemispheric dynamics controlling visual attention. Specifically, we used a procedure called attentional isolation, where neurotypical participants covertly focused their visual attention in one hemifield (the attended visual field) for 30 minutes. Performance changes in both the unattended (opposite) visual field and the attended visual field were measured following this manipulation. We applied transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) over the right or left frontoparietal cortex to modulate the excitability of one hemisphere relative to the other during attention isolation, probing the neural mechanisms underlying the observed contralateral performance shift. Our results showed improved performance in the previously unattended visual field following the attentional isolation period after sham stimulation. However, tRNS revealed a functional dissociation between the hemispheres: right hemisphere active stimulation abolished the performance improvement, while left hemisphere stimulation preserved it. These findings suggest distinct roles for the left and right hemispheres in modulating paradoxical visual performance shifts and may inform the development of novel neurorehabilitation strategies for clinical populations.