Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation Produces Cross-Modal Improvements in Visual Thresholds

• Main Authors: Jamie L. Voros, Sage O. Sherman, Rachel Rise, Alexander Kryuchkov, Ponder Stine, Allison P. Anderson, Torin K. Clark
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-03-01
• Series: Frontiers in Neuroscience
• Subjects: GVS; stochastic resonance (SR); cross-modal; in-channel; visual thresholds; white noise
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2021.640984/full

BackgroundStochastic resonance (SR) refers to a faint signal being enhanced with the addition of white noise. Previous studies have found that vestibular perceptual thresholds are lowered with noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (i.e., “in-channel” SR). Auditory white noise has been shown to improve tactile and visual thresholds, suggesting “cross-modal” SR.ObjectiveWe investigated galvanic vestibular white noise (nGVS) (n = 9 subjects) to determine the cross-modal effects on visual and auditory thresholds.MethodsWe measured auditory and visual perceptual thresholds of human subjects across a swath of different nGVS levels in order to determine if some individual-subject determined best nGVS level elicited a reduction in thresholds as compared the no noise condition (sham).ResultsWe found improvement in visual thresholds (by an average of 18%, p = 0.014). Subjects with higher (worse) visual thresholds with no stimulation (sham) improved more than those with lower thresholds (p = 0.04). Auditory thresholds were unchanged by vestibular stimulation.ConclusionThese results are the first demonstration of cross-modal improvement with galvanic vestibular stimulation, indicating galvanic vestibular white noise can produce cross-modal improvements in some sensory channels, but not all.