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Abstract

Brain connectivity plays a major role in the encoding, transfer, and
integration of sensory information. Interregional synchronization
of neural oscillations in the γ-frequency band has been suggested
as a key mechanism underlying perceptual integration. In a recent
study, we found evidence for this hypothesis showing that the
modulation of interhemispheric oscillatory synchrony by means of
bihemispheric high-density transcranial alternating current stimulation
(HD-TACS) affects binaural integration of dichotic acoustic features.
Here, we aimed to establish a direct link between oscillatory
synchrony, effective brain connectivity, and binaural integration.
We experimentally manipulated oscillatory synchrony (using bihemispheric
γ-TACS with different interhemispheric phase lags) and
assessed the effect on effective brain connectivity and binaural integration
(as measured with functional MRI and a dichotic listening
task, respectively). We found that TACS reduced intrahemispheric
connectivity within the auditory cortices and antiphase (interhemispheric
phase lag 180°) TACS modulated connectivity between the
two auditory cortices. Importantly, the changes in intra- and interhemispheric
connectivity induced by TACS were correlated with
changes in perceptual integration. Our results indicate that γ-band
synchronization between the two auditory cortices plays a functional
role in binaural integration, supporting the proposed role
of interregional oscillatory synchrony in perceptual integration.