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Li H, Wang X, Hamalainen T, Meng Z. Effects of different speed-accuracy instructions on perception in psychology experiments: evidence from event-related potential and oscillation. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1354051. [PMID: 38881749 PMCID: PMC11177619 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1354051] [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: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction In cognitive behavioral experiments, we often asked participants to make judgments within a deadline. However, the most common instruction of "do the task quickly and accurately" does not highlight the importance of the balance between being fast and accurate. Methods Our research aimed to explore how instructions about speed or accuracy affect perceptual process, focus on event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related oscillations (EROs) of two brain responses for visual stimuli, known as P1 and N1. Additionally, we compared the conventional analysis approach with principal component analysis (PCA) based methods to analyze P1 and N1 ERP amplitude and ERO power. Results The results showed that individuals instructed to respond quickly had lower P1 amplitude and alpha ERO than those who prioritized accuracy, using the PCA-based approach. However, these two groups had no differences between groups in the N1 theta band using both methods. The traditional time-frequency analysis method could not detect any ERP or ERO distinctions between groups due to limitations in detecting specific components in time or frequency domains. That means PCA is effective in separating these components. Discussion Our findings indicate that the instructions given regarding speed and accuracy impact perceptual process of subjects during cognitive behavioral experiments. We suggest that future researchers should choose their instructions carefully, considering the purpose of study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haijian Li
- School of Sport and Health Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
- Faculty of Information Technology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Xiaoshuang Wang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Timo Hamalainen
- Faculty of Information Technology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Zhaoli Meng
- School of Sport and Health Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
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2
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Houweling T, Becker R, Hervais-Adelman A. Elevated pre-target EEG alpha power enhances the probability of comprehending weakly noise masked words and decreases the probability of comprehending strongly masked words. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 247:105356. [PMID: 37979282 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Houweling
- Neurolinguistics, Department of Psychology, University of Zürich, Binzmühlestrasse 14, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zürich (ZNZ), University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Robert Becker
- Neurolinguistics, Department of Psychology, University of Zürich, Binzmühlestrasse 14, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Alexis Hervais-Adelman
- Neurolinguistics, Department of Psychology, University of Zürich, Binzmühlestrasse 14, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zürich (ZNZ), University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
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3
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Briden M, Norouzi N. Toward metacognition: subject-aware contrastive deep fusion representation learning for EEG analysis. BIOLOGICAL CYBERNETICS 2023; 117:363-372. [PMID: 37402000 PMCID: PMC10600301 DOI: 10.1007/s00422-023-00967-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
We propose a subject-aware contrastive learning deep fusion neural network framework for effectively classifying subjects' confidence levels in the perception of visual stimuli. The framework, called WaveFusion, is composed of lightweight convolutional neural networks for per-lead time-frequency analysis and an attention network for integrating the lightweight modalities for final prediction. To facilitate the training of WaveFusion, we incorporate a subject-aware contrastive learning approach by taking advantage of the heterogeneity within a multi-subject electroencephalogram dataset to boost representation learning and classification accuracy. The WaveFusion framework demonstrates high accuracy in classifying confidence levels by achieving a classification accuracy of 95.7% while also identifying influential brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Briden
- Baskin Engineering, UC Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA
| | - Narges Norouzi
- Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department, UC Berkeley, Soda Hall, Berkeley, CA 94709 USA
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4
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Trajkovic J, Di Gregorio F, Avenanti A, Thut G, Romei V. Two Oscillatory Correlates of Attention Control in the Alpha-Band with Distinct Consequences on Perceptual Gain and Metacognition. J Neurosci 2023; 43:3548-3556. [PMID: 37019621 PMCID: PMC10184728 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1827-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Behavioral consequences and neural underpinnings of visuospatial attention have long been investigated. Classical studies using the Posner paradigm have found that visual perception systematically benefits from the use of a spatially informative cue pointing to the to-be-attended spatial location, compared with a noninformative cue. Lateralized α amplitude modulation during visuospatial attention shifts has been suggested to account for such perceptual gain. However, recent studies on spontaneous fluctuations of prestimulus α amplitude have challenged this notion. These studies showed that spontaneous fluctuations of prestimulus α amplitude were associated with the subjective appreciation of stimulus occurrence, while objective accuracy was instead best predicted by the frequency of α oscillations, with faster prestimulus α frequency accounting for better perceptual performance. Here, in male and female humans, by using an informative cue in anticipation of lateralized stimulus presentation, we found that the predictive cue not only modulates preparatory α amplitude but also α frequency in a retinotopic manner. Behaviorally, the cue significantly impacted subjective performance measures (metacognitive abilities [meta-d']) and objective performance gain (d'). Importantly, α amplitude directly accounted for confidence levels, with ipsilateral synchronization and contralateral desynchronization coding for high-confidence responses. Crucially, the contralateral α amplitude selectively predicted interindividual differences in metacognitive abilities (meta-d'), thus anticipating decision strategy and not perceptual sensitivity, probably via excitability modulations. Instead, higher perceptual accuracy both within and across participants (d') was associated with faster contralateral α frequency, likely by implementing higher sampling at the attended location. These findings provide critical new insights into the neural mechanisms of attention control and its perceptual consequences.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Prior knowledge serves the anticipation of sensory input to reduce sensory ambiguity. The growing interest in the neural mechanisms governing the integration of sensory input into our internal representations has highlighted a pivotal role of brain oscillations. Here we show that distinct but interacting oscillatory mechanisms are engaged during attentional deployment: one relying on α amplitude modulations and reflecting internal decision processes, associated with subjective perceptual experience and metacognitive abilities; the other relying on α frequency modulations and enabling mechanistic sampling of the sensory input at the attended location to influence objective performance. These insights are crucial for understanding how we reduce sensory ambiguity to maximize the efficiency of our conscious experience, but also in interpreting the mechanisms of atypical perceptual experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Trajkovic
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, Cesena, 47521, Italy
| | - Francesco Di Gregorio
- Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale, UOC Medicina riabilitativa e neuroriabilitazione, Bologna, 40124, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, Cesena, 47521, Italy
- Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, 346000, Chile
| | - Gregor Thut
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, MVLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QB, United Kingdom
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, Cesena, 47521, Italy
- Istituto Di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, 00179, Italy
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5
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One-year-later spontaneous EEG features predict visual exploratory human phenotypes. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1361. [PMID: 36509841 PMCID: PMC9744741 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04294-9] [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: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
During visual exploration, eye movements are controlled by multiple stimulus- and goal-driven factors. We recently showed that the dynamics of eye movements -how/when the eye move- during natural scenes' free viewing were similar across individuals and identified two viewing styles: static and dynamic, characterized respectively by longer or shorter fixations. Interestingly, these styles could be revealed at rest, in the absence of any visual stimulus. This result supports a role of intrinsic activity in eye movement dynamics. Here we hypothesize that these two viewing styles correspond to different spontaneous patterns of brain activity. One year after the behavioural experiments, static and dynamic viewers were called back to the lab to record high density EEG activity during eyes open and eyes closed. Static viewers show higher cortical inhibition, slower individual alpha frequency peak, and longer memory of alpha oscillations. The opposite holds for dynamic viewers. We conclude that some properties of spontaneous activity predict exploratory eye movement dynamics during free viewing.
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6
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Zhao C, Li D, Guo J, Li B, Kong Y, Hu Y, Du B, Ding Y, Li X, Liu H, Song Y. The neurovascular couplings between electrophysiological and hemodynamic activities in anticipatory selective attention. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:4953-4968. [PMID: 35076708 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Selective attention is thought to involve target enhancement and distractor inhibition processes. Here, we recorded simultaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data from human adults when they were pre-cued by the visual field of coming target, distractor, or both of them. From the EEG data, we found alpha power relatively decreased contralaterally to the to-be-attended target, as reflected by the positive-going alpha modulation index. Late alpha power relatively increased contralaterally to the to-be-suppressed distractor, as reflected by the negative-going alpha modulation index. From the fNIRS data, we found enhancements of hemodynamic activity over the contralateral hemisphere in response to both the target and the distractor anticipation but within nonoverlapping posterior brain regions. More importantly, we described the specific neurovascular modulation between alpha power and oxygenated hemoglobin signal, which showed a positive coupling effect during target anticipation and a negative coupling effect during distractor anticipation. Such flexible neurovascular couplings between EEG oscillation and hemodynamic activity seem to play an essential role in the final behavioral outcomes. These results provide unique neurovascular evidence for the dissociation of the mechanisms of target enhancement and distractor inhibition. Individual behavioral differences can be related to individual differences in neurovascular coupling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenguang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.,Center for Cognition and Neuroergonomics, State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai 519087, China.,School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Dongwei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Jialiang Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Bingkun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yuanjun Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yiqing Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Boqi Du
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yulong Ding
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Xiaoli Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.,Center for Cognition and Neuroergonomics, State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai 519087, China
| | - Hanli Liu
- Department of Bioengineering, the University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
| | - Yan Song
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.,Center for Cognition and Neuroergonomics, State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai 519087, China
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7
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Davidson MJ, Macdonald JSP, Yeung N. Alpha oscillations and stimulus-evoked activity dissociate metacognitive reports of attention, visibility, and confidence in a rapid visual detection task. J Vis 2022; 22:20. [PMID: 36166234 PMCID: PMC9531462 DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.10.20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Variability in the detection and discrimination of weak visual stimuli has been linked to oscillatory neural activity. In particular, the amplitude of activity in the alpha-band (8–12 Hz) has been shown to impact the objective likelihood of stimulus detection, as well as measures of subjective visibility, attention, and decision confidence. Here we investigate how preparatory alpha in a cued pretarget interval influences performance and phenomenology, by recording simultaneous subjective measures of attention and confidence (experiment 1) or attention and visibility (experiment 2) on a trial-by-trial basis in a visual detection task. Across both experiments, alpha amplitude was negatively and linearly correlated with the intensity of subjective attention. In contrast with this linear relationship, we observed a quadratic relationship between the strength of alpha oscillations and subjective ratings of confidence and visibility. We find that this same quadratic relationship links alpha amplitude with the strength of stimulus-evoked responses. Visibility and confidence judgments also corresponded with the strength of evoked responses, but confidence, uniquely, incorporated information about attentional state. As such, our findings reveal distinct psychological and neural correlates of metacognitive judgments of attentional state, stimulus visibility, and decision confidence when these judgments are preceded by a cued target interval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Davidson
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.,
| | | | - Nick Yeung
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,
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8
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Wang J, Wang J, Sun J, Li C, Tong S, Hong X. The effects of pre-cue posterior alpha on post-cue alpha activity and target processing in visual spatial attention tasks with instructional and probabilistic cues. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:4056-4069. [PMID: 36005905 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The electroencephalography alpha-band (8-13 Hz) activity may represent a crucial neural substrate of visual spatial attention. However, factors likely contributing to alpha activity have not been adequately addressed, which impedes understanding its functional roles. We investigated whether pre-cue alpha power was associated with post-cue alpha activity in 2 independent experiments (n = 30 each) with different cueing strategies (instructional vs. probabilistic) by median-splitting subjects (between-subject) or trials (within-subject) according to pre-cue alpha. In both experiments, only subjects with higher pre-cue alpha showed significant post-cue alpha desynchronization and alpha lateralization, while whether trials had higher or lower pre-cue alpha affected post-cue alpha desynchronization but not alpha lateralization. Furthermore, significant attentional modulation of target processing indexed by N1 component was observed in subjects and trials regardless of higher or lower pre-cue alpha in the instructional cueing experiment. While in the probabilistic cueing experiment, N1 attentional modulation was only observed in higher pre-cue alpha subjects and lower pre-cue alpha trials. In summary, by demonstrating the effects of pre-cue alpha and cueing strategy on post-cue alpha activity and target processing, our results suggest the necessity of considering these 2 contributing factors when investigating the functional roles of alpha activity in visual spatial attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Wang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jianan Wang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Junfeng Sun
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Chunbo Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai 200030, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.,Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Shanbao Tong
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xiangfei Hong
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
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9
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Fan Y, Fu Q, Zhang S, Zhang M, Chang S, Zhao S, Wang M. Spatiotemporal variation in nitrogen and phosphorus levels and microbial community in the upstream water transport channel to the Douhe Reservoir. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:50471-50487. [PMID: 35233670 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-19273-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The Douhe Reservoir is an important diversion water source and drinking water resource for Tianjin and the Tangshan cities. Panjiakou, Daheiting, Qiuzhuang, and the Douhe Reservoirs located from top to bottom in the LuanHe River region forming a group of cascade reservoirs. After over 30 years of aquaculture, the concentration of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have exceeded Class III of Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water in China. We selected the Douhe Reservoir as the study site and choose sampling points in several upstream reservoirs and main reservoir area, and we collected a total of 18 water samples. Moreover, the distribution characteristics of N and P levels in flood season and dry season were studied in the Douhe Reservoir and upstream water channel, respectively. The results indicated that there were significant spatial differences between N and P distribution in the Douhe Reservoir and the upstream sites. We observed that the distribution of N and P had seasonal characteristics, and the contents of nitrate(NO3--N), nitrogen(TN), total phosphorus(TP), and total dissolved phosphorus(TDP) in flood periods were higher than those in dry periods. The microbial community structure illustrated that the dominant phylum displayed seasonal differences between the upstream channel and the reservoir area. Among them, the abundance of some genera changed with the location of the channel, the microbial community structure, and the levels of N and P, especially in flood season. Particularly, NO3--N and TN had the most significant correlation. Hence, this study presented an important theoretical foundation for the risk prevention and the control of nutrient elements in the LuanHe River basin in the future, which would enhance the drinking water safety of Tianjin and Tangshan residents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yueting Fan
- National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Source Protection, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China
| | - Qing Fu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Source Protection, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China
| | - Shusong Zhang
- College of Ocean and Bioengineering, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng, 224007, China
| | - Moli Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Source Protection, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China
| | - Sheng Chang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Source Protection, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.
| | - Shaoyan Zhao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Source Protection, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China
| | - Minling Wang
- Shandong Yantai Ecological Environmental Monitoring Center, Shandong, 264000, China
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10
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Chen Y, Shi W, Liu Q, Chu H, Chen X, Yan L, Wu J, Li L, Gao X. EEG Measurement for Suppression in Refractive Amblyopia and Push-pull Perception Efficacy. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2022; 30:1321-1330. [PMID: 35576430 DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2022.3175177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In order to evaluate refractive amblyopia suppression and understand the neural mechanism of amblyopia suppression and push-pull perception training, we recorded the EEG of refractive amblyopia children before, during, and after push-pull perception training. We compared the brain activity in different states through the steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) response and power topography and compared them with normal children. We found that amblyopic and fellow eyes have different performances in fundamental and harmonic frequency responses. They also show different characteristics when be masked. Push-pull perception training improved the SSVEP performance of amblyopia children by reducing the SSVEP response difference between eyes and improving the intermodulation frequency response. The result of topography showed that push-pull perception reduced the alpha power of occipital and temporal lobes, which was conducive to improving binocular function. The changes of intermodulation response and occipital alpha power were significantly correlated with the clinical indicator. Thus, EEG is a potential method to measure amblyopia suppression and the efficacy of push-pull perception.
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11
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Transcranial stimulation of alpha oscillations up-regulates the default mode network. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:2110868119. [PMID: 34969856 PMCID: PMC8740757 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2110868119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The default mode network (DMN) is the most-prominent intrinsic connectivity network, serving as a key architecture of the brain's functional organization. Conversely, dysregulated DMN is characteristic of major neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the field still lacks mechanistic insights into the regulation of the DMN and effective interventions for DMN dysregulation. The current study approached this problem by manipulating neural synchrony, particularly alpha (8 to 12 Hz) oscillations, a dominant intrinsic oscillatory activity that has been increasingly associated with the DMN in both function and physiology. Using high-definition alpha-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (α-tACS) to stimulate the cortical source of alpha oscillations, in combination with simultaneous electroencephalography and functional MRI (EEG-fMRI), we demonstrated that α-tACS (versus Sham control) not only augmented EEG alpha oscillations but also strengthened fMRI and (source-level) alpha connectivity within the core of the DMN. Importantly, increase in alpha oscillations mediated the DMN connectivity enhancement. These findings thus identify a mechanistic link between alpha oscillations and DMN functioning. That transcranial alpha modulation can up-regulate the DMN further highlights an effective noninvasive intervention to normalize DMN functioning in various disorders.
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12
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Sadaghiani S, Brookes MJ, Baillet S. Connectomics of human electrophysiology. Neuroimage 2021; 247:118788. [PMID: 34906715 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We present both a scientific overview and conceptual positions concerning the challenges and assets of electrophysiological measurements in the search for the nature and functions of the human connectome. We discuss how the field has been inspired by findings and approaches from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and informed by a small number of significant multimodal empirical studies, which show that the canonical networks that are commonplace in fMRI are in fact rooted in electrophysiological processes. This review is also an opportunity to produce a brief, up-to-date critical survey of current data modalities and analytical methods available for deriving both static and dynamic connectomes from electrophysiology. We review hurdles that challenge the significance and impact of current electrophysiology connectome research. We then encourage the field to take a leap of faith and embrace the wealth of electrophysiological signals, despite their apparent, disconcerting complexity. Our position is that electrophysiology connectomics is poised to inform testable mechanistic models of information integration in hierarchical brain networks, constructed from observable oscillatory and aperiodic signal components and their polyrhythmic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sepideh Sadaghiani
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, United States; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Matthew J Brookes
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG72RD, United Kingdom
| | - Sylvain Baillet
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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13
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Hearing Aid Noise Reduction Lowers the Sustained Listening Effort During Continuous Speech in Noise-A Combined Pupillometry and EEG Study. Ear Hear 2021; 42:1590-1601. [PMID: 33950865 DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000001050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The investigation of auditory cognitive processes recently moved from strictly controlled, trial-based paradigms toward the presentation of continuous speech. This also allows the investigation of listening effort on larger time scales (i.e., sustained listening effort). Here, we investigated the modulation of sustained listening effort by a noise reduction algorithm as applied in hearing aids in a listening scenario with noisy continuous speech. The investigated directional noise reduction algorithm mainly suppresses noise from the background. DESIGN We recorded the pupil size and the EEG in 22 participants with hearing loss who listened to audio news clips in the presence of background multi-talker babble noise. We estimated how noise reduction (off, on) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR; +3 dB, +8 dB) affect pupil size and the power in the parietal EEG alpha band (i.e., parietal alpha power) as well as the behavioral performance. RESULTS Our results show that noise reduction reduces pupil size, while there was no significant effect of the SNR. It is important to note that we found interactions of SNR and noise reduction, which suggested that noise reduction reduces pupil size predominantly under the lower SNR. Parietal alpha power showed a similar yet nonsignificant pattern, with increased power under easier conditions. In line with the participants' reports that one of the two presented talkers was more intelligible, we found a reduced pupil size, increased parietal alpha power, and better performance when people listened to the more intelligible talker. CONCLUSIONS We show that the modulation of sustained listening effort (e.g., by hearing aid noise reduction) as indicated by pupil size and parietal alpha power can be studied under more ecologically valid conditions. Mainly concluded from pupil size, we demonstrate that hearing aid noise reduction lowers sustained listening effort. Our study approximates to real-world listening scenarios and evaluates the benefit of the signal processing as can be found in a modern hearing aid.
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14
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Wainio-Theberge S, Wolff A, Northoff G. Dynamic relationships between spontaneous and evoked electrophysiological activity. Commun Biol 2021; 4:741. [PMID: 34131279 PMCID: PMC8206204 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02240-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous neural activity fluctuations have been shown to influence trial-by-trial variation in perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. However, the complex electrophysiological mechanisms by which these fluctuations shape stimulus-evoked neural activity remain largely to be explored. Employing a large-scale magnetoencephalographic dataset and an electroencephalographic replication dataset, we investigate the relationship between spontaneous and evoked neural activity across a range of electrophysiological variables. We observe that for high-frequency activity, high pre-stimulus amplitudes lead to greater evoked desynchronization, while for low frequencies, high pre-stimulus amplitudes induce larger degrees of event-related synchronization. We further decompose electrophysiological power into oscillatory and scale-free components, demonstrating different patterns of spontaneous-evoked correlation for each component. Finally, we find correlations between spontaneous and evoked time-domain electrophysiological signals. Overall, we demonstrate that the dynamics of multiple electrophysiological variables exhibit distinct relationships between their spontaneous and evoked activity, a result which carries implications for experimental design and analysis in non-invasive electrophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soren Wainio-Theberge
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Annemarie Wolff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. .,Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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15
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Waschke L, Kloosterman NA, Obleser J, Garrett DD. Behavior needs neural variability. Neuron 2021; 109:751-766. [PMID: 33596406 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Human and non-human animal behavior is highly malleable and adapts successfully to internal and external demands. Such behavioral success stands in striking contrast to the apparent instability in neural activity (i.e., variability) from which it arises. Here, we summon the considerable evidence across scales, species, and imaging modalities that neural variability represents a key, undervalued dimension for understanding brain-behavior relationships at inter- and intra-individual levels. We believe that only by incorporating a specific focus on variability will the neural foundation of behavior be comprehensively understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonhard Waschke
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Niels A Kloosterman
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior, and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Douglas D Garrett
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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16
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Beppi C, Ribeiro Violante I, Scott G, Sandrone S. EEG, MEG and neuromodulatory approaches to explore cognition: Current status and future directions. Brain Cogn 2021; 148:105677. [PMID: 33486194 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Revised: 12/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Neural oscillations and their association with brain states and cognitive functions have been object of extensive investigation over the last decades. Several electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) analysis approaches have been explored and oscillatory properties have been identified, in parallel with the technical and computational advancement. This review provides an up-to-date account of how EEG/MEG oscillations have contributed to the understanding of cognition. Methodological challenges, recent developments and translational potential, along with future research avenues, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Beppi
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Inês Ribeiro Violante
- Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory (C3NL), Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.
| | - Gregory Scott
- Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory (C3NL), Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Stefano Sandrone
- Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory (C3NL), Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
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17
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Sghirripa S, Graetz L, Merkin A, Rogasch NC, Semmler JG, Goldsworthy MR. Load-dependent modulation of alpha oscillations during working memory encoding and retention in young and older adults. Psychophysiology 2020; 58:e13719. [PMID: 33141460 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Working memory (WM) is vulnerable to age-related decline, particularly under high loads. Visual alpha oscillations contribute to WM performance in younger adults, and although alpha decreases in power and frequency with age, it is unclear if alpha activity supports WM in older adults. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) while 24 younger (aged 18-35 years) and 30 older (aged 50-86) adults performed a modified Sternberg task with varying load conditions. Older adults demonstrated slower reaction times at all loads, but there were no significant age differences in WM capacity. Regardless of age, alpha power decreased and alpha frequency increased with load during encoding, and the magnitude of alpha suppression during retention was larger at higher loads. While alpha power during retention was lower than fixation in older, but not younger adults, the relative change from fixation was not significantly different between age groups. Individual differences in alpha power did not predict performance for either age groups or at any WM loads. We demonstrate that alpha power and frequency are modulated in a similar task- and load-dependent manner during WM in both older and younger adults when WM performance is comparable across age groups. IMPACT STATEMENT: Aging is associated with a marked decrease in the power and frequency of alpha oscillations. Here, we demonstrate that when verbal working memory performance is matched across age groups, alpha power and frequency are modulated in a similar task- and load-dependent manner in both young and older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Sghirripa
- Lifespan Human Neurophysiology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Discipline of Physiology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Lifelong Health, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Lynton Graetz
- Lifespan Human Neurophysiology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Lifelong Health, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Ashley Merkin
- Lifespan Human Neurophysiology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Lifelong Health, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Nigel C Rogasch
- Lifelong Health, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Discipline of Psychiatry, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Brain, Mind and Society Research Hub, School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - John G Semmler
- Discipline of Physiology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Mitchell R Goldsworthy
- Lifespan Human Neurophysiology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Discipline of Physiology, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Lifelong Health, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Discipline of Psychiatry, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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18
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Vandewouw MM, Dunkley BT, Lerch JP, Anagnostou E, Taylor MJ. Characterizing Inscapes and resting-state in MEG: Effects in typical and atypical development. Neuroimage 2020; 225:117524. [PMID: 33147510 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Examining the brain at rest is a powerful approach used to understand the intrinsic properties of typical and disordered human brain function, yet task-free paradigms are associated with greater head motion, particularly in young and/or clinical populations such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Inscapes, a non-social and non-verbal movie paradigm, has been introduced to increase attention, thus mitigating head motion, while reducing the task-induced activations found during typical movie watching. Inscapes has not yet been validated for use in magnetoencephalography (MEG), and it has yet to be shown whether its effects are stable in clinical populations. Across typically developing (N = 32) children and adolescents and those with ASD (N = 46) and ADHD (N = 42), we demonstrate that head motion is reduced during Inscapes. Due to the task state evoked by movie paradigms, we also expectedly observed concomitant modulations in local neural activity (oscillatory power) and functional connectivity (phase and envelope coupling) in intrinsic resting-state networks and across the frequency spectra compared to a fixation cross resting-state. Increases in local activity were accompanied by decreases in low-frequency connectivity within and between resting-state networks, primarily the visual network, suggesting that task-state evoked by Inscapes moderates ongoing and spontaneous cortical inhibition that forms the idling intrinsic networks found during a fixation cross resting-state. Importantly, these effects were similar in ASD and ADHD, making Inscapes a well-suited advancement for investigations of resting brain function in young and clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlee M Vandewouw
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada; Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Autism Research Centre, Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
| | - Benjamin T Dunkley
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada; Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Jason P Lerch
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Evdokia Anagnostou
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Autism Research Centre, Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Margot J Taylor
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada; Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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19
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Hong X, Bo K, Meyyappan S, Tong S, Ding M. Decoding attention control and selection in visual spatial attention. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:3900-3921. [PMID: 32542852 PMCID: PMC7469865 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 05/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Event‐related potentials (ERPs) are used extensively to investigate the neural mechanisms of attention control and selection. The univariate ERP approach, however, has left important questions inadequately answered. We addressed two questions by applying multivariate pattern classification to multichannel ERPs in two cued visual spatial attention experiments (N = 56): (a) impact of cueing strategies (instructional vs. probabilistic) on attention control and selection and (b) neural and behavioral effects of individual differences. Following cue onset, the decoding accuracy (cue left vs. cue right) began to rise above chance level earlier and remained higher in instructional cueing (~80 ms) than in probabilistic cueing (~160 ms), suggesting that unilateral attention focus leads to earlier and more distinct formation of the attention control set. A similar temporal sequence was also found for target‐related processing (cued target vs. uncued target), suggesting earlier and stronger attention selection under instructional cueing. Across the two experiments: (a) individuals with higher cue‐related decoding accuracy showed higher magnitude of attentional modulation of target‐evoked N1 amplitude, suggesting that better formation of anticipatory attentional state leads to stronger modulation of target processing, and (b) individuals with higher target‐related decoding accuracy showed faster reaction times (or larger cueing effects), suggesting that stronger selection of task‐relevant information leads to better behavioral performance. Taken together, multichannel ERPs combined with machine learning decoding yields new insights into attention control and selection that complement the univariate ERP approach, and along with the univariate ERP approach, provides a more comprehensive methodology to the study of visual spatial attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangfei Hong
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health CenterShanghai Jiao Tong University School of MedicineShanghaiChina
- J Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Ke Bo
- J Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Sreenivasan Meyyappan
- J Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Shanbao Tong
- School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Mingzhou Ding
- J Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
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20
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Rajan A, Siegel SN, Liu Y, Bengson J, Mangun GR, Ding M. Theta Oscillations Index Frontal Decision-Making and Mediate Reciprocal Frontal-Parietal Interactions in Willed Attention. Cereb Cortex 2020; 29:2832-2843. [PMID: 29931088 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Revised: 05/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention can be attracted reflexively by sensory signals, biased by learning or reward, or focused voluntarily based on momentary goals. When voluntary attention is focused by purely internal decision processes (will), rather than instructions via external cues, we call this "willed attention." In prior work, we reported ERP and fMRI correlates of willed spatial attention in trial-by-trial cuing tasks. Here we further investigated the oscillatory mechanisms of willed attention by contrasting the event-related EEG spectrogram between instructional and choice cues. Two experiments were conducted at 2 different sites using the same visuospatial attention paradigm. Consistent between the 2 experiments, we found increases in frontal theta power (starting at ~500 ms post cue) for willed attention relative to instructed attention. This frontal theta increase was accompanied by increased frontal-parietal theta-band coherence and bidirectional Granger causality. Additionally, the onset of attention-related posterior alpha power lateralization was delayed in willed attention relative to instructed attention, and the amount of delay was related to the timing of frontal theta increase. These results, replicated across 2 experiments, suggest that theta oscillations are the neuronal signals indexing decision-making in the frontal cortex, and mediating reciprocal communications between the frontal executive and parietal attentional control regions during willed attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhijit Rajan
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Scott N Siegel
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Yuelu Liu
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Jesse Bengson
- Department of Psychology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA
| | - George R Mangun
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.,Departments of Psychology and Neurology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Mingzhou Ding
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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21
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Li Y, Ward MJ, Richardson RM, G'Sell M, Ghuman AS. Endogenous activity modulates stimulus and circuit-specific neural tuning and predicts perceptual behavior. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4014. [PMID: 32782303 PMCID: PMC7419548 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17729-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Perception reflects not only sensory inputs, but also the endogenous state when these inputs enter the brain. Prior studies show that endogenous neural states influence stimulus processing through non-specific, global mechanisms, such as spontaneous fluctuations of arousal. It is unclear if endogenous activity influences circuit and stimulus-specific processing and behavior as well. Here we use intracranial recordings from 30 pre-surgical epilepsy patients to show that patterns of endogenous activity are related to the strength of trial-by-trial neural tuning in different visual category-selective neural circuits. The same aspects of the endogenous activity that relate to tuning in a particular neural circuit also correlate to behavioral reaction times only for stimuli from the category that circuit is selective for. These results suggest that endogenous activity can modulate neural tuning and influence behavior in a circuit- and stimulus-specific manner, reflecting a potential mechanism by which endogenous neural states facilitate and bias perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanning Li
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Program in Neural Computation and Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Michael J Ward
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - R Mark Richardson
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Max G'Sell
- Department of Statistics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Avniel Singh Ghuman
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Program in Neural Computation and Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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22
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Rosenblum Y, Maidan I, Fahoum F, Giladi N, Bregman N, Shiner T, Mirelman A. Differential changes in visual and auditory event-related oscillations in dementia with Lewy bodies. Clin Neurophysiol 2020; 131:2357-2366. [PMID: 32828038 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.06.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Revised: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Aside from the cognitive impairment, patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) have a high frequency of visual hallucinations and a number of other vision-related symptoms, whereas auditory hallucinations are less frequent. To better understand the differential dysfunction of the visual network in DLB, we compared auditory and visual event-related potentials and oscillations in patients with DLB. METHODS Event-related potentials elicited by visual and auditory oddball tasks were recorded in 23 patients with DLB and 22 healthy controls and analyzed in time and time-frequency domain. RESULTS DLB patients had decreased theta band activity related to both early sensory and later cognitive processing in the visual, but not in the auditory task. Patients had lower delta and higher alpha and beta bands power related to later cognitive processing in both auditory and visual tasks. CONCLUSIONS In DLB visual event-related oscillations are characterized by a decrease in theta and lack of inhibition in alpha bands. SIGNIFICANCE Decreased theta and a lack of inhibition in alpha band power might be an oscillatory underpinning of some classical DLB symptoms such as fluctuations in attention and high-level visual disturbances and a potential marker of dysfunction of the visual system in DLB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yevgenia Rosenblum
- Laboratory of Early Markers of Neurodegeneration, Center for the Study of Movement, Cognition and Mobility, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Cognitive Neurology Unit, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Inbal Maidan
- Laboratory of Early Markers of Neurodegeneration, Center for the Study of Movement, Cognition and Mobility, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Firas Fahoum
- Epilepsy Unit, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Nir Giladi
- Laboratory of Early Markers of Neurodegeneration, Center for the Study of Movement, Cognition and Mobility, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Cognitive Neurology Unit, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Epilepsy Unit, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Noa Bregman
- Cognitive Neurology Unit, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Tamara Shiner
- Cognitive Neurology Unit, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Anat Mirelman
- Laboratory of Early Markers of Neurodegeneration, Center for the Study of Movement, Cognition and Mobility, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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23
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Neural Mechanisms of Attentional Control for Objects: Decoding EEG Alpha When Anticipating Faces, Scenes,and Tools. J Neurosci 2020; 40:4913-4924. [PMID: 32404346 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2685-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Attentional selection mechanisms in visual cortex involve changes in oscillatory activity in the EEG alpha band (8-12 Hz), with decreased alpha indicating focal cortical enhancement and increased alpha indicating suppression. This has been observed for spatial selective attention and attention to stimulus features such as color versus motion. We investigated whether attention to objects involves similar alpha-mediated changes in focal cortical excitability. In experiment 1, 20 volunteers (8 males; 12 females) were cued (80% predictive) on a trial-by-trial basis to different objects (faces, scenes, or tools). Support vector machine decoding of alpha power patterns revealed that late (>500 ms latency) in the cue-to-target foreperiod, only EEG alpha differed with the to-be-attended object category. In experiment 2, to eliminate the possibility that decoding of the physical features of cues led to our results, 25 participants (9 males; 16 females) performed a similar task where cues were nonpredictive of the object category. Alpha decoding was now only significant in the early (<200 ms) foreperiod. In experiment 3, to eliminate the possibility that task set differences between the different object categories led to our experiment 1 results, 12 participants (5 males; 7 females) performed a predictive cuing task where the discrimination task for different objects was identical across object categories. The results replicated experiment 1. Together, these findings support the hypothesis that the neural mechanisms of visual selective attention involve focal cortical changes in alpha power not only for simple spatial and feature attention, but also for high-level object attention in humans.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Attention is the cognitive function that enables relevant information to be selected from sensory inputs so it can be processed in the support of goal-directed behavior. Visual attention is widely studied, yet the neural mechanisms underlying the selection of visual information remain unclear. Oscillatory EEG activity in the alpha range (8-12 Hz) of neural populations receptive to target visual stimuli may be part of the mechanism, because alpha is thought to reflect focal neural excitability. Here, we show that alpha-band activity, as measured by scalp EEG from human participants, varies with the specific category of object selected by attention. This finding supports the hypothesis that alpha-band activity is a fundamental component of the neural mechanisms of attention.
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24
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Li G, Li H, Pu J, Wan F, Hu Y. Effect of brain alpha oscillation on the performance in laparoscopic skills simulator training. Surg Endosc 2020; 35:584-592. [DOI: 10.1007/s00464-020-07419-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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25
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Raffin E, Salamanca-Giron RF, Hummel FC. Perspectives: Hemianopia-Toward Novel Treatment Options Based on Oscillatory Activity? Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2019; 34:13-25. [PMID: 31858874 DOI: 10.1177/1545968319893286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Stroke has become one of the main causes of visual impairment, with more than 15 million incidences of first-time strokes, per year, worldwide. One-third of stroke survivors exhibit visual impairment, and most of them will not fully recover. Some recovery is possible, but this usually happens in the first few weeks after a stroke. Most of the rehabilitation options that are offered to patients are compensatory, such as optical aids or eye training. However, these techniques do not seem to provide a sufficient amount of improvement transferable to everyday life. Based on the relatively recent idea that the visual system can actually recover from a chronic lesion, visual retraining protocols have emerged, sometimes even in combination with noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS), to further boost plastic changes in the residual visual tracts and network. The present article reviews the underlying mechanisms supporting visual retraining and describes the first clinical trials that applied NIBS combined with visual retraining. As a further perspective, it gathers the scientific evidence demonstrating the relevance of interregional functional synchronization of brain networks for visual field recovery, especially the causal role of α and γ oscillations in parieto-occipital regions. Because transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can induce frequency-specific entrainment and modulate spike timing-dependent plasticity, we present a new promising interventional approach, consisting of applying physiologically motivated tACS protocols based on multifocal cross-frequency brain stimulation of the visuoattentional network for visual field recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Raffin
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL Valais), Sion, Switzerland.,Clinique Romande de Réadaptation, Sion, Switzerland
| | | | - Friedhelm Christoph Hummel
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.,Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL Valais), Sion, Switzerland.,Clinique Romande de Réadaptation, Sion, Switzerland.,University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland
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26
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Waschke L, Tune S, Obleser J. Local cortical desynchronization and pupil-linked arousal differentially shape brain states for optimal sensory performance. eLife 2019; 8:e51501. [PMID: 31820732 PMCID: PMC6946578 DOI: 10.7554/elife.51501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Instantaneous brain states have consequences for our sensation, perception, and behaviour. Fluctuations in arousal and neural desynchronization likely pose perceptually relevant states. However, their relationship and their relative impact on perception is unclear. We here show that, at the single-trial level in humans, local desynchronization in sensory cortex (expressed as time-series entropy) versus pupil-linked arousal differentially impact perceptual processing. While we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and pupillometry data, stimuli of a demanding auditory discrimination task were presented into states of high or low desynchronization of auditory cortex via a real-time closed-loop setup. Desynchronization and arousal distinctly influenced stimulus-evoked activity and shaped behaviour displaying an inverted u-shaped relationship: States of intermediate desynchronization elicited minimal response bias and fastest responses, while states of intermediate arousal gave rise to highest response sensitivity. Our results speak to a model in which independent states of local desynchronization and global arousal jointly optimise sensory processing and performance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sarah Tune
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of LübeckLübeckGermany
| | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of LübeckLübeckGermany
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27
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Yang Z, Guo D, Zhang Y, Wu S, Yao D. Visual Evoked Response Modulation Occurs in a Complementary Manner Under Dynamic Circuit Framework. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2019; 27:2005-2014. [DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2019.2940712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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28
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Clancy KJ, Baisley SK, Albizu A, Kartvelishvili N, Ding M, Li W. Lasting connectivity increase and anxiety reduction via transcranial alternating current stimulation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2019; 13:1305-1316. [PMID: 30380131 PMCID: PMC6277743 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) modulating intrinsic neural oscillations has spawned interest in applying tACS to treat psychiatric disorders associated with aberrant neural oscillations. The alpha rhythmic activity is known to dominate neural oscillations at the awake, restful state, while attenuated resting-state alpha activity has been implicated in anxious mood. Administering repeated alpha-frequency tACS (α-tACS; at individual peak alpha frequency; 8–12 Hz) over four consecutive days (in the experiment group, sham stimulation in the control group), we demonstrated immediate and lasting (>24 h) increases in resting-state posterior ➔frontal connectivity in the alpha frequency, quantified by Granger causality. Critically, this connectivity enhancement was accompanied by sustained reductions in both anxious arousal and negative perception of sensory stimuli. Resting-state alpha power also increased, albeit only transiently, reversing to the baseline level within 24 h after tACS. Therefore, the lasting enhancement of long-range alpha connectivity due to α-tACS differs from local alpha activity that is nonetheless conserved, highlighting the adaptability of alpha oscillatory networks. In light of increasing recognition of large-scale network dysfunctions as a transdiagnostic pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, this enduring connectivity plasticity, along with the behavioral improvements, paves the way for tACS applications in clinical interventions of psychiatric ‘oscillopathies’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Clancy
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Sarah K Baisley
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Alejandro Albizu
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | | | - Mingzhou Ding
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Wen Li
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
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29
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Iemi L, Busch NA, Laudini A, Haegens S, Samaha J, Villringer A, Nikulin VV. Multiple mechanisms link prestimulus neural oscillations to sensory responses. eLife 2019; 8:e43620. [PMID: 31188126 PMCID: PMC6561703 DOI: 10.7554/elife.43620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous fluctuations of neural activity may explain why sensory responses vary across repeated presentations of the same physical stimulus. To test this hypothesis, we recorded electroencephalography in humans during stimulation with identical visual stimuli and analyzed how prestimulus neural oscillations modulate different stages of sensory processing reflected by distinct components of the event-related potential (ERP). We found that strong prestimulus alpha- and beta-band power resulted in a suppression of early ERP components (C1 and N150) and in an amplification of late components (after 0.4 s), even after controlling for fluctuations in 1/f aperiodic signal and sleepiness. Whereas functional inhibition of sensory processing underlies the reduction of early ERP responses, we found that the modulation of non-zero-mean oscillations (baseline shift) accounted for the amplification of late responses. Distinguishing between these two mechanisms is crucial for understanding how internal brain states modulate the processing of incoming sensory information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Iemi
- Department of Neurological SurgeryColumbia University College of Physicians and SurgeonsNew York CityUnited States
- Department of NeurologyMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
- Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive NeuroscienceNational Research University Higher School of EconomicsMoscowRussian Federation
| | - Niko A Busch
- Institute of PsychologyUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral NeuroscienceUniversity of MünsterMünsterGermany
| | - Annamaria Laudini
- Berlin School of Mind and BrainHumboldt-Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Saskia Haegens
- Department of Neurological SurgeryColumbia University College of Physicians and SurgeonsNew York CityUnited States
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud University NijmegenNijmegenNetherlands
| | - Jason Samaha
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of California, Santa CruzSanta CruzUnited States
| | - Arno Villringer
- Department of NeurologyMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
- Berlin School of Mind and BrainHumboldt-Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Vadim V Nikulin
- Department of NeurologyMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
- Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive NeuroscienceNational Research University Higher School of EconomicsMoscowRussian Federation
- Department of NeurologyCharité-Universitätsmedizin BerlinBerlinGermany
- Bernstein Center for Computational NeuroscienceBerlinGermany
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30
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Zhao C, Guo J, Li D, Tao Y, Ding Y, Liu H, Song Y. Anticipatory alpha oscillation predicts attentional selection and hemodynamic response. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:3606-3619. [PMID: 31062891 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Revised: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In covert visual attention, one fundamental question is how advance knowledge facilitates subsequent neural processing and behavioral performance. In this study, with a rapid event-related simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near infrared spectroscopy recording in humans, we explored the potential contribution of anticipatory electrophysiological activation and hemodynamic activation by examining how anticipatory low-frequency oscillations and changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) concentration influence the subsequent event-related potential (ERP) marker of attentional selection. We found that expecting a target led to both a posterior lateralization of alpha-band (8-12 Hz) oscillation power and a lateralization of HbO response over the visual cortex. Importantly, the magnitude of cue-induced alpha lateralization was positively correlated with the nearby HbO lateralization in the visual cortex, and such a cue-induced alpha lateralization predicted the subsequent target-evoked N2pc amplitudes assumed to reflect attentional selection. Our results suggest that each individual's attentional selection biomarker as reflected by N2pc is predictable in advance via the anticipation-induced alpha lateralization, and such cue-induced alpha lateralization seems to play an important role in the functional coupling effects between the low-frequency EEG and the nearby hemodynamic activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenguang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jialiang Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Dongwei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ye Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yulong Ding
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.,Brain and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong, China
| | - Hanli Liu
- Department of Bioengineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas
| | - Yan Song
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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31
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The Hemispheric Distribution of α-Band EEG Activity During Orienting of Attention in Patients with Reduced Awareness of the Left Side of Space (Spatial Neglect). J Neurosci 2019; 39:4332-4343. [PMID: 30902872 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2206-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2018] [Revised: 01/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
EEG studies in healthy humans have highlighted that alpha-band activity is relatively reduced over the occipital-parietal areas of the hemisphere contralateral to the direction of spatial attention. Here, we investigated the hemispheric distribution of alpha during orienting of attention in male and female right brain-damaged patients with left spatial neglect. Temporal spectral evolution showed that in patients with neglect alpha oscillations over the damaged hemisphere were pathologically enhanced both during the baseline-fixation period that preceded cued orienting (capturing tonic alpha changes) and during orienting with leftward, rightward, or neutral-bilateral spatial cues (reflecting phasic alpha changes). Patients without neglect showed a similar though significantly less enhanced hemispheric asymmetry. Healthy control subjects displayed a conventional decrease of alpha activity over the hemisphere contralateral to the direction of orienting. In right-brain-damaged patients, neglect severity in the line bisection task was significantly correlated both with tonic alpha asymmetry during the baseline period and with phasic asymmetries during orienting of attention with neutral-bilateral and leftward cues. Asymmetries with neutral-bilateral and leftward cues were correlated with lesion of white matter tracts linking frontal with parietal-occipital areas. These findings show that disruption of rostrocaudal white matter connectivity in the right hemisphere interferes with the maintenance of optimal baseline tonic levels of alpha and the phasic modulation of alpha activity during shifts of attention. The hemispheric distribution of alpha activity can be used as a diagnostic tool for acquired pathological biases of spatial attention due to unilateral brain damage.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Alpha desynchronization over the hemisphere contralateral to the attended side of space is a reliable marker of attentional orienting in the healthy human brain: can the same marker be used to spot and quantify acquired disturbances of spatial attention after unilateral brain injuries? Are pathological modifications in the hemispheric distribution of alpha specifically linked to attentional neglect for one side of space? We show that in patients with right brain damage the pathological enhancement of alpha oscillations over the parietal and occipital areas of the injured hemisphere is correlated with reduced awareness for the left side of space and with the lesion of white matter pathways that subserve frontal modulation of alpha activity in posterior brain areas.
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32
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Kloosterman NA, de Gee JW, Werkle-Bergner M, Lindenberger U, Garrett DD, Fahrenfort JJ. Humans strategically shift decision bias by flexibly adjusting sensory evidence accumulation. eLife 2019; 8:e37321. [PMID: 30724733 PMCID: PMC6365056 DOI: 10.7554/elife.37321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Decision bias is traditionally conceptualized as an internal reference against which sensory evidence is compared. Instead, we show that individuals implement decision bias by shifting the rate of sensory evidence accumulation toward a decision bound. Participants performed a target detection task while we recorded EEG. We experimentally manipulated participants' decision criterion for reporting targets using different stimulus-response reward contingencies, inducing either a liberal or a conservative bias. Drift diffusion modeling revealed that a liberal strategy biased sensory evidence accumulation toward target-present choices. Moreover, a liberal bias resulted in stronger midfrontal pre-stimulus 2-6 Hz (theta) power and suppression of pre-stimulus 8-12 Hz (alpha) power in posterior cortex. Alpha suppression in turn was linked to the output activity in visual cortex, as expressed through 59-100 Hz (gamma) power. These findings show that observers can intentionally control cortical excitability to strategically bias evidence accumulation toward the decision bound that maximizes reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niels A Kloosterman
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing ResearchMax Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentBerlinGermany
- Center for Lifespan PsychologyMax Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentBerlinGermany
| | - Jan Willem de Gee
- Department of Neurophysiology and PathophysiologyUniversity Medical Center Hamburg-EppendorfHamburgGermany
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Markus Werkle-Bergner
- Center for Lifespan PsychologyMax Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentBerlinGermany
| | - Ulman Lindenberger
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing ResearchMax Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentBerlinGermany
- Center for Lifespan PsychologyMax Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentBerlinGermany
| | - Douglas D Garrett
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing ResearchMax Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentBerlinGermany
- Center for Lifespan PsychologyMax Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentBerlinGermany
| | - Johannes Jacobus Fahrenfort
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Department of Experimental and Applied PsychologyVrije UniversiteitAmsterdamThe Netherlands
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33
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Petro NM, Thigpen NN, Garcia S, Boylan MR, Keil A. Pre-target alpha power predicts the speed of cued target discrimination. Neuroimage 2019; 189:878-885. [PMID: 30703522 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.01.066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 01/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The human visual system selects information from dense and complex streams of spatiotemporal input. This selection process is aided by prior knowledge of the features, location, and temporal proximity of an upcoming stimulus. In the laboratory, this knowledge is often conveyed by cues, preceding a task-relevant target stimulus. Response speed in cued selection tasks varies within and across participants and is often thought to index efficient selection of a cued feature, location, or moment in time. The present study used a reverse correlation approach to identify neural predictors of efficient target discrimination: Participants identified the orientation of a sinusoidal grating, which was presented in one hemifield following the presentation of bilateral visual cues that carried temporal but not spatial information about the target. Across different analytic approaches, faster target responses were predicted by larger alpha power preceding the target. These results suggest that heightened pre-target alpha power during a cue period may index a state that is beneficial for subsequent target processing. Our findings are broadly consistent with models that emphasize capacity sharing across time, as well as models that link alpha oscillations to temporal predictions regarding upcoming events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan M Petro
- Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, B76 East Stadium, Lincoln, NE 68588-2056, USA.
| | | | - Steven Garcia
- Center for the Study of Emotion & Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Maeve R Boylan
- Center for the Study of Emotion & Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Andreas Keil
- Center for the Study of Emotion & Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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34
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Walker CP, Pessoa ALS, Figueiredo T, Rafferty M, Melo US, Nóbrega PR, Murphy N, Kok F, Zatz M, Santos S, Cho RY. Loss-of-function mutation in inositol monophosphatase 1 (IMPA1) results in abnormal synchrony in resting-state EEG. Orphanet J Rare Dis 2019; 14:3. [PMID: 30616629 PMCID: PMC6322245 DOI: 10.1186/s13023-018-0977-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Dysregulation of the inositol cycle is implicated in a wide variety of human diseases, including developmental defects and neurological diseases. A homozygous frameshift mutation in IMPA1, coding for the enzyme inositol monophosphatase 1 (IMPase), has recently been associated with severe intellectual disability (ID) in a geographically isolated consanguineous family in Northeastern Brazil (Figueredo et al., 2016). However, the neurophysiologic mechanisms that mediate the IMPA1 mutation and associated ID phenotype have not been characterized. To this end, resting EEG (eyes-open and eyes-closed) was collected from the Figueredo et al. pedigree. Quantitative EEG measures, including mean power, dominant frequency and dominant frequency variability, were investigated for allelic associations using multivariate family-based association test using generalized estimating equations. Results We found that the IMPA1 mutation was associated with relative decreases in frontal theta band power as well as altered alpha-band variability with no regional specificity during the eyes-open condition. For the eyes-closed condition, there was altered dominant theta frequency variability in the central and parietal regions. Conclusions These findings represent the first human in vivo phenotypic assessment of brain function disturbances associated with a loss-of-function IMPA1 mutation, and thus an important first step towards an understanding the pathophysiologic mechanisms of intellectual disability associated with the mutation that affects this critical metabolic pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher P Walker
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Andre L S Pessoa
- Hospital Infantil Albert Sabin, Fortaleza, Brazil.,Universidade Estadual do Ceará-UECE, Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - Thalita Figueiredo
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Megan Rafferty
- Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Uirá S Melo
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
| | | | - Nicholas Murphy
- Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Fernando Kok
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Mayana Zatz
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Silvana Santos
- Department of Biology, State University of Paraíba (UEPB), Campina Grande, PB, Brazil
| | - Raymond Y Cho
- Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
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35
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Wöstmann M, Waschke L, Obleser J. Prestimulus neural alpha power predicts confidence in discriminating identical auditory stimuli. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 49:94-105. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Malte Wöstmann
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Lübeck Lübeck Germany
| | | | - Jonas Obleser
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Lübeck Lübeck Germany
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36
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Babu Henry Samuel I, Wang C, Hu Z, Ding M. The frequency of alpha oscillations: Task-dependent modulation and its functional significance. Neuroimage 2018; 183:897-906. [PMID: 30176369 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.08.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2018] [Revised: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 08/25/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Power (amplitude) and frequency are two important characteristics of EEG alpha oscillations (8-12 Hz). There is an extensive literature showing that alpha power can be modulated in a goal-oriented manner to either enhance or suppress sensory information processing. Only a few studies to date have examined the task-dependent modulation of alpha frequency. Instead, alpha frequency is often viewed as a trait variable, and used to characterize individual differences in cognitive functioning. We performed two experiments to examine the task-dependent modulation of alpha frequency and its functional significance. In the first experiment, high-density EEG was recorded from 21 participants performing a Sternberg working memory task. The results showed that: (1) during memory encoding, alpha frequency decreased with increasing memory load, whereas during memory retention and retrieval, alpha frequency increased with increasing memory load, (2) higher alpha frequency prior to the onset of probe was associated with longer reaction time, and (3) higher alpha frequency prior to the onset of cue or probe was associated with weaker early cue-evoked or probe-evoked neural responses. In the second experiment, simultaneous EEG-fMRI was recorded from 59 participants during resting state. An EEG-informed fMRI analysis revealed that the spontaneous fluctuations of alpha frequency, but not alpha power, were inversely associated with BOLD activity in the visual cortex. Taken together, these findings suggest that alpha frequency is task-dependent, may serve as an indicator of cortical excitability, and along with alpha power, provides more comprehensive indexing of sensory gating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Immanuel Babu Henry Samuel
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Chao Wang
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Zhenhong Hu
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Mingzhou Ding
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
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37
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Pascucci D, Hervais-Adelman A, Plomp G. Gating by induced Α-Γ asynchrony in selective attention. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:3854-3870. [PMID: 29797747 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 04/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual selective attention operates through top-down mechanisms of signal enhancement and suppression, mediated by α-band oscillations. The effects of such top-down signals on local processing in primary visual cortex (V1) remain poorly understood. In this work, we characterize the interplay between large-scale interactions and local activity changes in V1 that orchestrates selective attention, using Granger-causality and phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) analysis of EEG source signals. The task required participants to either attend to or ignore oriented gratings. Results from time-varying, directed connectivity analysis revealed frequency-specific effects of attentional selection: bottom-up γ-band influences from visual areas increased rapidly in response to attended stimuli while distributed top-down α-band influences originated from parietal cortex in response to ignored stimuli. Importantly, the results revealed a critical interplay between top-down parietal signals and α-γ PAC in visual areas. Parietal α-band influences disrupted the α-γ coupling in visual cortex, which in turn reduced the amount of γ-band outflow from visual areas. Our results are a first demonstration of how directed interactions affect cross-frequency coupling in downstream areas depending on task demands. These findings suggest that parietal cortex realizes selective attention by disrupting cross-frequency coupling at target regions, which prevents them from propagating task-irrelevant information.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Pascucci
- Perceptual Networks Group, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Alexis Hervais-Adelman
- Brain and Language Lab, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Gijs Plomp
- Perceptual Networks Group, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.,Functional Brain Mapping Lab, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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38
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Prestimulus EEG Power Predicts Conscious Awareness But Not Objective Visual Performance. eNeuro 2017; 4:eN-NWR-0182-17. [PMID: 29255794 PMCID: PMC5732016 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0182-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Revised: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/03/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Prestimulus oscillatory neural activity has been linked to perceptual outcomes during performance of psychophysical detection and discrimination tasks. Specifically, the power and phase of low frequency oscillations have been found to predict whether an upcoming weak visual target will be detected or not. However, the mechanisms by which baseline oscillatory activity influences perception remain unclear. Recent studies suggest that the frequently reported negative relationship between α power and stimulus detection may be explained by changes in detection criterion (i.e., increased target present responses regardless of whether the target was present/absent) driven by the state of neural excitability, rather than changes in visual sensitivity (i.e., more veridical percepts). Here, we recorded EEG while human participants performed a luminance discrimination task on perithreshold stimuli in combination with single-trial ratings of perceptual awareness. Our aim was to investigate whether the power and/or phase of prestimulus oscillatory activity predict discrimination accuracy and/or perceptual awareness on a trial-by-trial basis. Prestimulus power (3-28 Hz) was inversely related to perceptual awareness ratings (i.e., higher ratings in states of low prestimulus power/high excitability) but did not predict discrimination accuracy. In contrast, prestimulus oscillatory phase did not predict awareness ratings or accuracy in any frequency band. These results provide evidence that prestimulus α power influences the level of subjective awareness of threshold visual stimuli but does not influence visual sensitivity when a decision has to be made regarding stimulus features. Hence, we find a clear dissociation between the influence of ongoing neural activity on conscious awareness and objective performance.
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39
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Clayton MS, Yeung N, Cohen Kadosh R. The many characters of visual alpha oscillations. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 48:2498-2508. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2017] [Revised: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Nick Yeung
- Department of Experimental Psychology; University of Oxford; Oxford UK
| | - Roi Cohen Kadosh
- Department of Experimental Psychology; University of Oxford; Oxford UK
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40
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Benwell CSY, Keitel C, Harvey M, Gross J, Thut G. Trial-by-trial co-variation of pre-stimulus EEG alpha power and visuospatial bias reflects a mixture of stochastic and deterministic effects. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 48:2566-2584. [PMID: 28887893 PMCID: PMC6221168 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Human perception of perithreshold stimuli critically depends on oscillatory EEG activity prior to stimulus onset. However, it remains unclear exactly which aspects of perception are shaped by this pre‐stimulus activity and what role stochastic (trial‐by‐trial) variability plays in driving these relationships. We employed a novel jackknife approach to link single‐trial variability in oscillatory activity to psychometric measures from a task that requires judgement of the relative length of two line segments (the landmark task). The results provide evidence that pre‐stimulus alpha fluctuations influence perceptual bias. Importantly, a mediation analysis showed that this relationship is partially driven by long‐term (deterministic) alpha changes over time, highlighting the need to account for sources of trial‐by‐trial variability when interpreting EEG predictors of perception. These results provide fundamental insight into the nature of the effects of ongoing oscillatory activity on perception. The jackknife approach we implemented may serve to identify and investigate neural signatures of perceptual relevance in more detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher S Y Benwell
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, 58 Hillhead Street, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK
| | - Christian Keitel
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, 58 Hillhead Street, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK
| | - Monika Harvey
- School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Joachim Gross
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, 58 Hillhead Street, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK
| | - Gregor Thut
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, 58 Hillhead Street, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK
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41
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Pinheiro AP, Barros C, Dias M, Kotz SA. Laughter catches attention! Biol Psychol 2017; 130:11-21. [PMID: 28942367 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2016] [Revised: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
In social interactions, emotionally salient and sudden changes in vocal expressions attract attention. However, only a few studies examined how emotion and attention interact in voice processing. We investigated neutral, happy (laughs) and angry (growls) vocalizations in a modified oddball task. Participants silently counted the targets in each block and rated the valence and arousal of the vocalizations. A combined event-related potential and time-frequency analysis focused on the P3 and pre-stimulus alpha power to capture attention effects in response to unexpected events. Whereas an early differentiation between emotionally salient and neutral vocalizations was reflected in the P3a response, the P3b was selectively enhanced for happy voices. The P3b modulation was predicted by pre-stimulus frontal alpha desynchronization, and by the perceived pleasantness of the targets. These findings indicate that vocal emotions may be differently processed based on task relevance and valence. Increased anticipation and attention to positive vocal cues (laughter) may reflect their high social relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana P Pinheiro
- Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia, CICPSI, Lisboa, Portugal; Neuropsychophysiology Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
| | - Carla Barros
- Neuropsychophysiology Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Marcelo Dias
- Neuropsychophysiology Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Sonja A Kotz
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
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42
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Battistoni E, Stein T, Peelen MV. Preparatory attention in visual cortex. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2017; 1396:92-107. [PMID: 28253445 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2016] [Revised: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 01/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Top-down attention is the mechanism that allows us to selectively process goal-relevant aspects of a scene while ignoring irrelevant aspects. A large body of research has characterized the effects of attention on neural activity evoked by a visual stimulus. However, attention also includes a preparatory phase before stimulus onset in which the attended dimension is internally represented. Here, we review neurophysiological, functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, electroencephalography, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies investigating the neural basis of preparatory attention, both when attention is directed to a location in space and when it is directed to nonspatial stimulus attributes (content-based attention) ranging from low-level features to object categories. Results show that both spatial and content-based attention lead to increased baseline activity in neural populations that selectively code for the attended attribute. TMS studies provide evidence that this preparatory activity is causally related to subsequent attentional selection and behavioral performance. Attention thus acts by preactivating selective neurons in the visual cortex before stimulus onset. This appears to be a general mechanism that can operate on multiple levels of representation. We discuss the functional relevance of this mechanism, its limitations, and its relation to working memory, imagery, and expectation. We conclude by outlining open questions and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Battistoni
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Timo Stein
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Marius V Peelen
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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43
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Samaha J, Iemi L, Postle BR. Prestimulus alpha-band power biases visual discrimination confidence, but not accuracy. Conscious Cogn 2017; 54:47-55. [PMID: 28222937 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2016] [Revised: 01/30/2017] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The magnitude of power in the alpha-band (8-13Hz) of the electroencephalogram (EEG) prior to the onset of a near threshold visual stimulus predicts performance. Together with other findings, this has been interpreted as evidence that alpha-band dynamics reflect cortical excitability. We reasoned, however, that non-specific changes in excitability would be expected to influence signal and noise in the same way, leaving actual discriminability unchanged. Indeed, using a two-choice orientation discrimination task, we found that discrimination accuracy was unaffected by fluctuations in prestimulus alpha power. Decision confidence, on the other hand, was strongly negatively correlated with prestimulus alpha power. This finding constitutes a clear dissociation between objective and subjective measures of visual perception as a function of prestimulus cortical excitability. This dissociation is predicted by a model where the balance of evidence supporting each choice drives objective performance but only the magnitude of evidence supporting the selected choice drives subjective reports, suggesting that human perceptual confidence can be suboptimal with respect to tracking objective accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Samaha
- Department of Psychology, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
| | - Luca Iemi
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
| | - Bradley R Postle
- Department of Psychology, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA; Department of Psychiatry, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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44
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Whitmarsh S, Oostenveld R, Almeida R, Lundqvist D. Metacognition of attention during tactile discrimination. Neuroimage 2017; 147:121-129. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.11.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Revised: 11/23/2016] [Accepted: 11/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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45
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Craddock M, Poliakoff E, El-Deredy W, Klepousniotou E, Lloyd DM. Pre-stimulus alpha oscillations over somatosensory cortex predict tactile misperceptions. Neuropsychologia 2016; 96:9-18. [PMID: 28041948 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.12.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2016] [Revised: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 12/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Fluctuations of pre-stimulus oscillatory activity in the somatosensory alpha band (8-14Hz) observed using human EEG and MEG have been shown to influence the detection of supra- and peri-threshold somatosensory stimuli. However, some reports of touch occur even without a stimulus. We investigated the possibility that pre-stimulus alpha oscillations might also influence these false reports of touch - known as tactile misperceptions. We recorded EEG while participants performed the Somatic Signal Detection Task (SSDT), in which participants must detect brief, peri-threshold somatosensory targets. We found that pre-stimulus oscillatory power in the somatosensory alpha range exhibited a negative linear relationship with reporting of touch at electrode clusters over both contralateral and ipsilateral somatosensory regions. As pre-stimulus alpha power increased, the probability of reporting a touch declined; as it decreased, the probability of reporting a touch increased. This relationship was stronger on trials without a somatosensory stimulus than on trials with a somatosensory stimulus, although was present for both trial types. Spatio-temporal cluster-based permutation analysis also found that pre-stimulus alpha was lower on trials when touch was reported - irrespective of whether it was present - over contralateral and ipsilateral somatosensory cortices, as well as left frontocentral areas. We argue that alpha power may reflect changes in response criterion rather than sensitivity alone. Low alpha power relates to a low barrier to reporting a touch even when one is not present, while high alpha power is linked to less frequent reporting of touch overall.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Wael El-Deredy
- University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; University of Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile
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46
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Yin S, Liu Y, Ding M. Amplitude of Sensorimotor Mu Rhythm Is Correlated with BOLD from Multiple Brain Regions: A Simultaneous EEG-fMRI Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:364. [PMID: 27499736 PMCID: PMC4957514 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The mu rhythm is a field oscillation in the ∼10Hz range over the sensorimotor cortex. For decades, the suppression of mu (event-related desynchronization) has been used to index movement planning, execution, and imagery. Recent work reports that non-motor processes, such as spatial attention and movement observation, also desynchronize mu, raising the possibility that the mu rhythm is associated with the activity of multiple brain regions and systems. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by recording simultaneous resting-state EEG-fMRI from healthy subjects. Independent component analysis (ICA) was applied to extract the mu components. The amplitude (power) fluctuations of mu were estimated as a time series using a moving-window approach, which, after convolving with a canonical hemodynamic response function (HRF), was correlated with blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals from the entire brain. Two main results were found. First, mu power was negatively correlated with BOLD from areas of the sensorimotor network, the attention control network, the putative mirror neuron system, and the network thought to support theory of mind. Second, mu power was positively correlated with BOLD from areas of the salience network, including anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that sensorimotor mu rhythm is associated with multiple brain regions and systems. They also suggest that caution should be exercised when attempting to interpret mu modulation in terms of a single brain network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyang Yin
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, USA
| | - Yuelu Liu
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis CA, USA
| | - Mingzhou Ding
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, USA
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47
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de Pesters A, Coon WG, Brunner P, Gunduz A, Ritaccio AL, Brunet NM, de Weerd P, Roberts MJ, Oostenveld R, Fries P, Schalk G. Alpha power indexes task-related networks on large and small scales: A multimodal ECoG study in humans and a non-human primate. Neuroimage 2016; 134:122-131. [PMID: 27057960 PMCID: PMC4912924 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Accepted: 03/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Performing different tasks, such as generating motor movements or processing sensory input, requires the recruitment of specific networks of neuronal populations. Previous studies suggested that power variations in the alpha band (8-12Hz) may implement such recruitment of task-specific populations by increasing cortical excitability in task-related areas while inhibiting population-level cortical activity in task-unrelated areas (Klimesch et al., 2007; Jensen and Mazaheri, 2010). However, the precise temporal and spatial relationships between the modulatory function implemented by alpha oscillations and population-level cortical activity remained undefined. Furthermore, while several studies suggested that alpha power indexes task-related populations across large and spatially separated cortical areas, it was largely unclear whether alpha power also differentially indexes smaller networks of task-related neuronal populations. Here we addressed these questions by investigating the temporal and spatial relationships of electrocorticographic (ECoG) power modulations in the alpha band and in the broadband gamma range (70-170Hz, indexing population-level activity) during auditory and motor tasks in five human subjects and one macaque monkey. In line with previous research, our results confirm that broadband gamma power accurately tracks task-related behavior and that alpha power decreases in task-related areas. More importantly, they demonstrate that alpha power suppression lags population-level activity in auditory areas during the auditory task, but precedes it in motor areas during the motor task. This suppression of alpha power in task-related areas was accompanied by an increase in areas not related to the task. In addition, we show for the first time that these differential modulations of alpha power could be observed not only across widely distributed systems (e.g., motor vs. auditory system), but also within the auditory system. Specifically, alpha power was suppressed in the locations within the auditory system that most robustly responded to particular sound stimuli. Altogether, our results provide experimental evidence for a mechanism that preferentially recruits task-related neuronal populations by increasing cortical excitability in task-related cortical areas and decreasing cortical excitability in task-unrelated areas. This mechanism is implemented by variations in alpha power and is common to humans and the non-human primate under study. These results contribute to an increasingly refined understanding of the mechanisms underlying the selection of the specific neuronal populations required for task execution.
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Affiliation(s)
- A de Pesters
- Nat Ctr for Adapt Neurotech, Wadsworth Center, NY State Dept of Health, Albany, NY, USA; Dept of Biomed Sci, State Univ of New York at Albany, Albany, NY, USA.
| | - W G Coon
- Nat Ctr for Adapt Neurotech, Wadsworth Center, NY State Dept of Health, Albany, NY, USA.
| | - P Brunner
- Nat Ctr for Adapt Neurotech, Wadsworth Center, NY State Dept of Health, Albany, NY, USA; Dept of Neurology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA.
| | - A Gunduz
- Dept of Biomed Eng, Univ of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
| | - A L Ritaccio
- Dept of Neurology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA.
| | - N M Brunet
- SUNY Downstate Med Ctr, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
| | - P de Weerd
- Dept of Cogn Neurosci, Maastricht Univ, Maastricht, Netherlands; Donders Inst for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
| | - M J Roberts
- Donders Inst for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
| | - R Oostenveld
- Donders Inst for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
| | - P Fries
- Donders Inst for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands; Ernst Strüngmann Inst for Neurosci, Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - G Schalk
- Nat Ctr for Adapt Neurotech, Wadsworth Center, NY State Dept of Health, Albany, NY, USA; Dept of Biomed Sci, State Univ of New York at Albany, Albany, NY, USA; Dept of Neurology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA.
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48
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Kustermann T, Rockstroh B, Kienle J, Miller GA, Popov T. Deficient attention modulation of lateralized alpha power in schizophrenia. Psychophysiology 2016; 53:776-85. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2015] [Accepted: 01/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Johanna Kienle
- Department of Psychology; University of Konstanz; Konstanz Germany
| | - Gregory A. Miller
- Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences; University of California Los Angeles; Los Angeles California USA
| | - Tzvetan Popov
- Department of Psychology; University of Konstanz; Konstanz Germany
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging; Radboud University; Nijmegen The Netherlands
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49
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Abstract
Cortical oscillations, such as 8-12 Hz alpha-band activity, are thought to subserve gating of information processing in the human brain. While most of the supporting evidence is correlational, causal evidence comes from attempts to externally drive ("entrain") these oscillations by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Indeed, the frequency profile of TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs) closely resembles that of oscillations spontaneously emerging in the same brain region. However, it is unclear whether TMS-locked and spontaneous oscillations are produced by the same neuronal mechanisms. If so, they should react in a similar manner to top-down modulation by endogenous attention. To test this prediction, we assessed the alpha-like EEG response to TMS of the visual cortex during periods of high and low visual attention while participants attended to either the visual or auditory modality in a cross-modal attention task. We observed a TMS-locked local oscillatory alpha response lasting several cycles after TMS (but not after sham stimulation). Importantly, TMS-locked alpha power was suppressed during deployment of visual relative to auditory attention, mirroring spontaneous alpha amplitudes. In addition, the early N40 TEP component, located at the stimulation site, was amplified by visual attention. The extent of attentional modulation for both TMS-locked alpha power and N40 amplitude did depend, with opposite sign, on the individual ability to modulate spontaneous alpha power at the stimulation site. We therefore argue that TMS-locked and spontaneous oscillations are of common neurophysiological origin, whereas the N40 TEP component may serve as an index of current cortical excitability at the time of stimulation.
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50
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Wang C, Rajagovindan R, Han SM, Ding M. Top-Down Control of Visual Alpha Oscillations: Sources of Control Signals and Their Mechanisms of Action. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:15. [PMID: 26834601 PMCID: PMC4718979 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2015] [Accepted: 01/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Alpha oscillations (8-12 Hz) are thought to inversely correlate with cortical excitability. Goal-oriented modulation of alpha has been studied extensively. In visual spatial attention, alpha over the region of visual cortex corresponding to the attended location decreases, signifying increased excitability to facilitate the processing of impending stimuli. In contrast, in retention of verbal working memory, alpha over visual cortex increases, signifying decreased excitability to gate out stimulus input to protect the information held online from sensory interference. According to the prevailing model, this goal-oriented biasing of sensory cortex is effected by top-down control signals from frontal and parietal cortices. The present study tests and substantiates this hypothesis by (a) identifying the signals that mediate the top-down biasing influence, (b) examining whether the cortical areas issuing these signals are task-specific or task-independent, and (c) establishing the possible mechanism of the biasing action. High-density human EEG data were recorded in two experimental paradigms: a trial-by-trial cued visual spatial attention task and a modified Sternberg working memory task. Applying Granger causality to both sensor-level and source-level data we report the following findings. In covert visual spatial attention, the regions exerting top-down control over visual activity are lateralized to the right hemisphere, with the dipoles located at the right frontal eye field (FEF) and the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) being the main sources of top-down influences. During retention of verbal working memory, the regions exerting top-down control over visual activity are lateralized to the left hemisphere, with the dipoles located at the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) being the main source of top-down influences. In both experiments, top-down influences are mediated by alpha oscillations, and the biasing effect is likely achieved via an inhibition-disinhibition mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Wang
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Rajasimhan Rajagovindan
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Sahng-Min Han
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Mingzhou Ding
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida Gainesville, FL, USA
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