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Menétrey MQ, Herzog MH, Pascucci D. Pre-stimulus alpha activity modulates long-lasting unconscious feature integration. Neuroimage 2023; 278:120298. [PMID: 37517573 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pre-stimulus alpha (α) activity can influence perception of shortly presented, low-contrast stimuli. The underlying mechanisms are often thought to affect perception exactly at the time of presentation. In addition, it is suggested that α cycles determine temporal windows of integration. However, in everyday situations, stimuli are usually presented for periods longer than ∼100 ms and perception is often an integration of information across space and time. Moving objects are just one example. Hence, the question is whether α activity plays a role also in temporal integration, especially when stimuli are integrated over several α cycles. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we investigated the relationship between pre-stimulus brain activity and long-lasting integration in the sequential metacontrast paradigm (SQM), where two opposite vernier offsets, embedded in a stream of lines, are unconsciously integrated into a single percept. We show that increases in α power, even 300 ms before the stimulus, affected the probability of reporting the first offset, shown at the very beginning of the SQM. This effect was mediated by the systematic slowing of the α rhythm that followed the peak in α power. No phase effects were found. Together, our results demonstrate a cascade of neural changes, following spontaneous bursts of α activity and extending beyond a single moment, which influences the sensory representation of visual features for hundreds of milliseconds. Crucially, as feature integration in the SQM occurs before a conscious percept is elicited, this also provides evidence that α activity is linked to mechanisms regulating unconscious processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maëlan Q Menétrey
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Michael H Herzog
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - David Pascucci
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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Tseng CH, Chen JH, Hsu SM. The Effect of the Peristimulus α Phase on Visual Perception through Real-Time Phase-Locked Stimulus Presentation. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0128-23.2023. [PMID: 37507226 PMCID: PMC10436686 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0128-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The α phase has been theorized to reflect fluctuations in cortical excitability and thereby impose a cyclic influence on visual perception. Despite its appeal, this notion is not fully substantiated, as both supporting and opposing evidence has been recently reported. In contrast to previous research, this study examined the effect of the peristimulus instead of prestimulus phase on visual detection through a real-time phase-locked stimulus presentation (PLSP) approach. Specifically, we monitored phase data from magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings over time, with a newly developed algorithm based on adaptive Kalman filtering (AKF). This information guided online presentations of masked stimuli that were phased-locked to different stages of the α cycle while healthy humans concurrently performed detection tasks. Behavioral evidence showed that the overall detection rate did not significantly vary according to the four predetermined peristimulus α phases. Nevertheless, the follow-up analyses highlighted that the phase at 90° relative to 180° likely enhanced detection. Corroborating neural parietal activity showed that early interaction between α phases and incoming stimuli orchestrated the neural representation of the hits and misses of the stimuli. This neural representation varied according to the phase and in turn shaped the behavioral outcomes. In addition to directly investigating to what extent fluctuations in perception can be ascribed to the α phases, this study suggests that phase-dependent perception is not as robust as previously presumed, and might also depend on how the stimuli are differentially processed as a result of a stimulus-phase interaction, in addition to reflecting alternations of the perceptual states between phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chih-Hsin Tseng
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronic and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (Republic of China)
| | - Jyh-Horng Chen
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronic and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (Republic of China)
| | - Shen-Mou Hsu
- Imaging Center for Integrated Body, Mind and Culture Research, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (Republic of China)
- MOST AI Biomedical Research Center, Tainan City 701, Taiwan (Republic of China)
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Morrow A, Dou W, Samaha J. Individual alpha frequency appears unrelated to the latency of early visual responses. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1118910. [PMID: 37113149 PMCID: PMC10126513 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1118910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
A large body of work has linked neural oscillations in the alpha-band (8-13 Hz) to visual perceptual outcomes. In particular, studies have found that alpha phase prior to stimulus onset predicts stimulus detection, and sensory responses and that the frequency of alpha can predict temporal properties of perception. These findings have bolstered the idea that alpha-band oscillations reflect rhythmic sampling of visual information, however the mechanisms of this are unclear. Recently two contrasting hypotheses have been proposed. According to the rhythmic perception account, alpha oscillations impose phasic inhibition on perceptual processing and primarily modulate the amplitude or strength of visual responses and thus the likelihood of stimulus detection. On the other hand, the discrete perception account proposes that alpha activity discretizes perceptual inputs thereby reorganizing the timing (not only the strength) of perceptual and neural processes. In this paper, we sought neural evidence for the discrete perception account by assessing the correlation between individual alpha frequencies (IAF) and the latency of early visual evoked event-related potential (ERP) components. If alpha cycles were responsible for shifting neural events in time, then we may expect higher alpha frequencies to be associated with earlier afferent visual ERPs. Participants viewed large checkerboard stimuli presented to either the upper or lower visual field that were designed to elicit a large C1 ERP response (thought to index feedforward primary visual cortex activation). We found no reliable correlation between IAF and the C1 latency, or subsequent ERP component latencies, suggesting that the timing of these visual-evoked potentials was not modulated by alpha frequency. Our results thus fail to find evidence for discrete perception at the level of early visual responses but leave open the possibility of rhythmic perception.
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Keitel C, Ruzzoli M, Dugué L, Busch NA, Benwell CSY. Rhythms in cognition: The evidence revisited. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:2991-3009. [PMID: 35696729 PMCID: PMC9544967 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Manuela Ruzzoli
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), Donostia/San Sebastian, Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Laura Dugué
- Université Paris Cité, INCC UMR 8002, CNRS, Paris, France.,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Niko A Busch
- Institute for Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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Kozma R, Baars BJ, Geld N. Evolutionary Advantages of Stimulus-Driven EEG Phase Transitions in the Upper Cortical Layers. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:784404. [PMID: 34955771 PMCID: PMC8692947 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.784404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatio-temporal brain activity monitored by EEG recordings in humans and other mammals has identified beta/gamma oscillations (20-80 Hz), which are self-organized into spatio-temporal structures recurring at theta/alpha rates (4-12 Hz). These structures have statistically significant correlations with sensory stimuli and reinforcement contingencies perceived by the subject. The repeated collapse of self-organized structures at theta/alpha rates generates laterally propagating phase gradients (phase cones), ignited at some specific location of the cortical sheet. Phase cones have been interpreted as neural signatures of transient perceptual experiences according to the cinematic theory of brain dynamics. The rapid expansion of essentially isotropic phase cones is consistent with the propagation of perceptual broadcasts postulated by Global Workspace Theory (GWT). What is the evolutionary advantage of brains operating with repeatedly collapsing dynamics? This question is answered using thermodynamic concepts. According to neuropercolation theory, waking brains are described as non-equilibrium thermodynamic systems operating at the edge of criticality, undergoing repeated phase transitions. This work analyzes the role of long-range axonal connections and metabolic processes in the regulation of critical brain dynamics. Historically, the near 10 Hz domain has been associated with conscious sensory integration, cortical "ignitions" linked to conscious visual perception, and conscious experiences. We can therefore combine a very large body of experimental evidence and theory, including graph theory, neuropercolation, and GWT. This cortical operating style may optimize a tradeoff between rapid adaptation to novelty vs. stable and widespread self-organization, therefore resulting in significant Darwinian benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Kozma
- Center for Large-Scale Intelligent Optimization and Networks, Department of Mathematics, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States
| | - Bernard J. Baars
- Center for the Future Mind, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, United States
- Society for MindBrain Sciences, San Diego, CA, United States
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Kienitz R, Schmid MC, Dugué L. Rhythmic sampling revisited: Experimental paradigms and neural mechanisms. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:3010-3024. [PMID: 34643973 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Sampling of information is thought to be an important aspect of explorative behaviour. Evidence for it has been gained in behavioural assessments of a variety of overt and covert cognitive domains, including sensation, attention, memory, eye movements and dexterity. A common aspect across many findings is that sampling tends to exhibit a rhythmicity at low frequencies (theta, 4-8 Hz; alpha, 9-12 Hz). Neurophysiological investigations in a wide range of species, including rodents, non-human primates and humans have demonstrated the presence of sampling related neural oscillations in a number of brain areas ranging from early sensory cortex, hippocampus to high-level cognitive areas. However, to assess whether rhythmic sampling represents a general aspect of exploratory behaviour one must critically evaluate the task parameters, and their potential link with neural oscillations. Here we focus on sampling during attentive vision to present an overview on the experimental conditions that are used to investigate rhythmic sampling and associated oscillatory brain activity in this domain. This review aims to (1) provide guidelines to efficiently quantify behavioural rhythms, (2) compare results from human and non-human primate studies and (3) argue that the underlying neural mechanisms of sampling can co-occur in both sensory and high-level areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Kienitz
- Epilepsy Center Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Center of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany.,Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
| | - Michael C Schmid
- Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.,Department of Movement and Neuroscience, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Laura Dugué
- Université de Paris, INCC UMR 8002, CNRS, Paris, France.,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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