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Distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention

Previous research has associated alpha-band [8–12 Hz] oscillations with inhibitory functions: for instance, several studies showed that visual attention increases alpha-band power in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the attended location. However, other studies demonstrated that alpha oscillations posi...

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Autores principales: Alamia, Andrea, Terral, Lucie, D'ambra, Malo Renaud, VanRullen, Rufin
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10059684/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36876909
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.85035
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author Alamia, Andrea
Terral, Lucie
D'ambra, Malo Renaud
VanRullen, Rufin
author_facet Alamia, Andrea
Terral, Lucie
D'ambra, Malo Renaud
VanRullen, Rufin
author_sort Alamia, Andrea
collection PubMed
description Previous research has associated alpha-band [8–12 Hz] oscillations with inhibitory functions: for instance, several studies showed that visual attention increases alpha-band power in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the attended location. However, other studies demonstrated that alpha oscillations positively correlate with visual perception, hinting at different processes underlying their dynamics. Here, using an approach based on traveling waves, we demonstrate that there are two functionally distinct alpha-band oscillations propagating in different directions. We analyzed EEG recordings from three datasets of human participants performing a covert visual attention task (one new dataset with N = 16, two previously published datasets with N = 16 and N = 31). Participants were instructed to detect a brief target by covertly attending to the screen’s left or right side. Our analysis reveals two distinct processes: allocating attention to one hemifield increases top-down alpha-band waves propagating from frontal to occipital regions ipsilateral to the attended location, both with and without visual stimulation. These top-down oscillatory waves correlate positively with alpha-band power in frontal and occipital regions. Yet, different alpha-band waves propagate from occipital to frontal regions and contralateral to the attended location. Crucially, these forward waves were present only during visual stimulation, suggesting a separate mechanism related to visual processing. Together, these results reveal two distinct processes reflected by different propagation directions, demonstrating the importance of considering oscillations as traveling waves when characterizing their functional role.
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spelling pubmed-100596842023-03-30 Distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention Alamia, Andrea Terral, Lucie D'ambra, Malo Renaud VanRullen, Rufin eLife Neuroscience Previous research has associated alpha-band [8–12 Hz] oscillations with inhibitory functions: for instance, several studies showed that visual attention increases alpha-band power in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the attended location. However, other studies demonstrated that alpha oscillations positively correlate with visual perception, hinting at different processes underlying their dynamics. Here, using an approach based on traveling waves, we demonstrate that there are two functionally distinct alpha-band oscillations propagating in different directions. We analyzed EEG recordings from three datasets of human participants performing a covert visual attention task (one new dataset with N = 16, two previously published datasets with N = 16 and N = 31). Participants were instructed to detect a brief target by covertly attending to the screen’s left or right side. Our analysis reveals two distinct processes: allocating attention to one hemifield increases top-down alpha-band waves propagating from frontal to occipital regions ipsilateral to the attended location, both with and without visual stimulation. These top-down oscillatory waves correlate positively with alpha-band power in frontal and occipital regions. Yet, different alpha-band waves propagate from occipital to frontal regions and contralateral to the attended location. Crucially, these forward waves were present only during visual stimulation, suggesting a separate mechanism related to visual processing. Together, these results reveal two distinct processes reflected by different propagation directions, demonstrating the importance of considering oscillations as traveling waves when characterizing their functional role. eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 2023-03-06 /pmc/articles/PMC10059684/ /pubmed/36876909 http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.85035 Text en © 2023, Alamia et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Neuroscience
Alamia, Andrea
Terral, Lucie
D'ambra, Malo Renaud
VanRullen, Rufin
Distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention
title Distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention
title_full Distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention
title_fullStr Distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention
title_full_unstemmed Distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention
title_short Distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention
title_sort distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention
topic Neuroscience
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10059684/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36876909
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.85035
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