Closed-loop stimulation modulates attention shifting in children.

Closed-loop intracranial stimulation predicts and prevents attention lapses in children with epilepsy, improving attentional flexibility across multiple days and populations.

• Why it matters: Attention fluctuations hinder goal adaptation and are especially problematic in children with attention deficit disorders, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to enhance attentional control.
• What they did: Researchers used intracranial recordings and machine learning classifiers during an attentional set-shifting task in children with epilepsy, training models to forecast delays in attention shifts.
• The result: Electrical stimulation triggered by predicted lapses restored attention, and scalp EEG signatures enabled noninvasive modulation in healthy participants, advancing potential neuromodulation therapies.