Prismatic adaptation modulates oscillatory EEG correlates of motor preparation but not visual attention in healthy participants

Abstract

Prismatic adaption (PA) has been proposed as a tool to induce neural plasticity and is used to help neglect rehabilitation. It leads to a recalibration of visuo-motor coordination during pointing as well as to after-effects on a number of sensorimotor and attention tasks, but whether these effects originate at a motor or attentional level remains a matter of debate. Our aim was to further characterise PA after-effects by using an approach that allows distinguishing between effects on attentional and motor processes. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) in healthy human participants (9 females and 7 males) while performing a new double step, anticipatory attention/motor preparation paradigm before and after adaptation to rightward shifting prisms, with neutral lenses as a control. We then examined PA after-effects through changes in known oscillatory EEG signatures of spatial attention orienting and motor preparation in the alpha and beta frequency bands. Our results were twofold. First, we found PA to rightward shifting prisms to selectively affect EEG signatures of motor but not attentional processes. More specifically, PA modulated preparatory motor EEG activity over central electrodes in the right hemisphere, contralateral to the PA-induced, compensatory leftward shift in pointing movements. No effects were found on EEG signatures of spatial attention orienting over occipito-parietal sites. Second, we found the PA effect on preparatory motor EEG activity to dominate in the beta frequency band. We conclude that changes to intentional visuo-motor rather than attentional visuo-spatial processes underlie the PA after-effect of rightward deviating prisms in healthy participants.Significance StatementPrismatic adaptation (PA) has been proposed as a tool to induce neural plasticity in both healthy participants and patients, due to its after-effect impacting on a number of visuo-spatial and visuo-motor functions. However, the neural mechanisms underlying PA after-effects are poorly understood as only little neuroimaging evidence is available. Here, we examined for the first time the origin of PA after-effects studying oscillatory brain activity. Our results show a selective modulation of preparatory motor activity following PA in healthy participants but no effect on attention-related activity. This provides novel insight into the PA after-effect in the healthy brain and may help to inform interventions in neglect patients.