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Bae GY, Chen KW. EEG decoding reveals task-dependent recoding of sensory information in working memory. Neuroimage 2024; 297:120710. [PMID: 38942100 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2024] [Revised: 06/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM) supports future behavior by retaining perceptual information obtained in the recent past. The present study tested the hypothesis that WM recodes sensory information in a format that better supports behavioral goals. We recorded EEG while participants performed color delayed-estimation tasks where the colorwheel for the response was either randomly rotated or held fixed across trials. Accordingly, observers had to remember the exact colors in the Rotation condition, whereas they could prepare for a response based on the fixed mapping between the colors and their corresponding locations on the colorwheel in the No-Rotation condition. Results showed that the color reports were faster and more precise in the No-Rotation condition even when exactly the same set of colors were tested in both conditions. To investigate how the color information was maintained in the brain, we decoded the color using a multivariate EEG classification method. The decoding was limited to the stimulus encoding period in the Rotation condition, whereas it continued to be significant during the maintenance period in the No-Rotation condition, indicating that the color information was actively maintained in the condition. Follow-up analyses suggested that the prolonged decoding was not merely driven by the covert shift of attention but rather by the recoding of sensory information into an action-oriented response format. Together, these results provide converging evidence that WM flexibly recodes sensory information depending on the specific task context to optimize subsequent behavioral performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gi-Yeul Bae
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, 950 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85287, United States.
| | - Kuo-Wei Chen
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, 950 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85287, United States
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2
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Peylo C, Romberg-Taylor C, Behnke L, Sauseng P. Dynamic alpha power modulations and slow negative potentials track natural shifts of spatio-temporal attention. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14498. [PMID: 38071405 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Alpha power modulations and slow negative potentials have previously been associated with anticipatory processes in spatial and temporal top-down attention. In typical experimental designs, however, neural responses triggered by transient stimulus onsets can interfere with attention-driven activity patterns and our interpretation of such. Here, we investigated these signatures of spatio-temporal attention in a dynamic paradigm free from potentially confounding stimulus-driven activity using electroencephalography. Participants attended the cued side of a bilateral stimulus rotation and mentally counted how often one of two remembered sample orientations (i.e., the target) was displayed while ignoring the uncued side and non-target orientation. Afterwards, participants performed a delayed match-to-sample task, in which they indicated if the orientation of a probe stimulus matched the corresponding sample orientation (previously target or non-target). We observed dynamic alpha power reductions and slow negative waves around task-relevant points in space and time (i.e., onset of the target orientation in the cued hemifield) over posterior electrodes contralateral to the locus of attention. In contrast to static alpha power lateralization, these dynamic signatures correlated with subsequent memory performance (primarily detriments for matching probes of the non-target orientation), suggesting a preferential allocation of attention to task-relevant locations and time points at the expense of reduced resources and impaired performance for information outside the current focus of attention. Our findings suggest that humans can naturally and dynamically focus their attention at relevant points in space and time and that such spatio-temporal attention shifts can be reflected by dynamic alpha power modulations and slow negative potentials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charline Peylo
- Department of Psychology, Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Larissa Behnke
- Department of Psychology, Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Paul Sauseng
- Department of Psychology, Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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3
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Ramsay IS, Pokorny VJ, Lynn PA, Klein SD, Sponheim SR. Limited Consistency and Strength of Neural Oscillations During Sustained Visual Attention in Schizophrenia. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024; 9:337-345. [PMID: 36775194 PMCID: PMC10412733 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neural oscillations support perception, attention, and higher-order decision making. Aberrations in the strength or consistency of these oscillations in response to stimuli may underlie impaired visual perception and attention in schizophrenia. Here, we examined the phase and power of alpha oscillations (8-12 Hz) as well as aspects of beta and theta frequency oscillations during a demanding visual sustained attention task. METHODS Patients with schizophrenia (n = 74) and healthy control participants (n = 68) completed the degraded stimulus continuous performance task during electroencephalography. We used time-frequency analysis to evaluate the consistency (intertrial phase coherence) of the alpha cycle shortly after stimulus presentation (50-250 ms). For oscillation strength, we examined event-related desynchronization in a later window associated with decision making (360-700 ms). RESULTS Alpha intertrial phase coherence was reduced in schizophrenia, and similar reductions were observed in theta (4-7 Hz) and beta (13-20 Hz), suggesting a lack of responsiveness in slower oscillations to visual stimuli. Alpha and beta event-related desynchronization were also reduced in schizophrenia and associated with worse task performance, increased symptoms, and poorer cognition, suggesting that limited responsiveness of oscillations is related to impairments in the disorder. Individuals with lower intertrial phase coherence had slower resting-state alpha rhythms consistent with dysfunctional oscillations persisting across default and task-related brain states. CONCLUSIONS In schizophrenia, abnormalities in the phase consistency and strength of slower oscillations during visual perception are related to symptoms and cognitive functioning. Altered visual perception and impaired attention in the disorder may be the consequence of aberrant slower oscillations that fail to dynamically reset and modulate in response to stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian S Ramsay
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
| | - Victor J Pokorny
- Department of Psychology University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Peter A Lynn
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Samuel D Klein
- Department of Psychology University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Scott R Sponheim
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Psychology University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Minneapolis Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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4
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Rassam R, Chen Q, Gai Y. Competing Visual Cues Revealed by Electroencephalography: Sensitivity to Motion Speed and Direction. Brain Sci 2024; 14:160. [PMID: 38391734 PMCID: PMC10886893 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14020160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Motion speed and direction are two fundamental cues for the mammalian visual system. Neurons in various places of the neocortex show tuning properties in term of firing frequency to both speed and direction. The present study applied a 32-channel electroencephalograph (EEG) system to 13 human subjects while they were observing a single object moving with different speeds in various directions from the center of view to the periphery on a computer monitor. Depending on the experimental condition, the subjects were either required to fix their gaze at the center of the monitor while the object was moving or to track the movement with their gaze; eye-tracking glasses were used to ensure that they followed instructions. In each trial, motion speed and direction varied randomly and independently, forming two competing visual features. EEG signal classification was performed for each cue separately (e.g., 11 speed values or 11 directions), regardless of variations in the other cue. Under the eye-fixed condition, multiple subjects showed distinct preferences to motion direction over speed; however, two outliers showed superb sensitivity to speed. Under the eye-tracking condition, in which the EEG signals presumably contained ocular movement signals, all subjects showed predominantly better classification for motion direction. There was a trend that speed and direction were encoded by different electrode sites. Since EEG is a noninvasive and portable approach suitable for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), this study provides insights on fundamental knowledge of the visual system as well as BCI applications based on visual stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rassam Rassam
- Biomedical Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA
| | - Qi Chen
- Biomedical Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA
| | - Yan Gai
- Biomedical Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA
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5
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Balestrieri E, Michel R, Busch NA. Alpha-Band Lateralization and Microsaccades Elicited by Exogenous Cues Do Not Track Attentional Orienting. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0076-23.2023. [PMID: 38164570 PMCID: PMC10866192 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0076-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
We explore the world by constantly shifting our focus of attention toward salient stimuli and then disengaging from them in search of new ones. The alpha rhythm (8-13 Hz) has been suggested as a pivotal neural substrate of these attentional shifts, due to its local synchronization and desynchronization that suppress irrelevant cortical areas and facilitate relevant areas, a phenomenon called alpha lateralization. Whether alpha lateralization tracks the focus of attention from orienting toward a salient stimulus to disengaging from it is still an open question. We addressed it by leveraging the phenomenon of inhibition of return (IOR), consisting of an initial facilitation in response times (RTs) for stimuli appearing at an exogenously cued location, followed by a suppression of that location. Our behavioral data from human participants showed a typical IOR effect with both early facilitation and subsequent inhibition. In contrast, alpha lateralized in the cued direction after the behavioral facilitation effect and never re-lateralized compatibly with the behavioral inhibition. Furthermore, we analyzed the interaction between alpha lateralization and microsaccades: while alpha was lateralized toward the cued location, microsaccades were mostly oriented away from it. Crucially, the two phenomena showed a significant positive correlation. These results indicate that alpha lateralization reflects primarily the processing of salient stimuli, challenging the view that alpha lateralization is directly involved in exogenous attentional orienting per se. We discuss the relevance of the present findings for an oculomotor account of alpha lateralization as a modulator of cortical excitability in preparation of a saccade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elio Balestrieri
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Münster, Münster 48149, Germany
- Otto-Creutzfeldt-Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster 48149, Germany
| | - René Michel
- Otto-Creutzfeldt-Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster 48149, Germany
- Institute of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster 48149, Germany
| | - Niko A Busch
- Otto-Creutzfeldt-Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster 48149, Germany
- Institute of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster 48149, Germany
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6
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Lombardi F, Herrmann HJ, Parrino L, Plenz D, Scarpetta S, Vaudano AE, de Arcangelis L, Shriki O. Beyond pulsed inhibition: Alpha oscillations modulate attenuation and amplification of neural activity in the awake resting state. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113162. [PMID: 37777965 PMCID: PMC10842118 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Alpha oscillations are a distinctive feature of the awake resting state of the human brain. However, their functional role in resting-state neuronal dynamics remains poorly understood. Here we show that, during resting wakefulness, alpha oscillations drive an alternation of attenuation and amplification bouts in neural activity. Our analysis indicates that inhibition is activated in pulses that last for a single alpha cycle and gradually suppress neural activity, while excitation is successively enhanced over a few alpha cycles to amplify neural activity. Furthermore, we show that long-term alpha amplitude fluctuations-the "waxing and waning" phenomenon-are an attenuation-amplification mechanism described by a power-law decay of the activity rate in the "waning" phase. Importantly, we do not observe such dynamics during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep with marginal alpha oscillations. The results suggest that alpha oscillations modulate neural activity not only through pulses of inhibition (pulsed inhibition hypothesis) but also by timely enhancement of excitation (or disinhibition).
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Lombardi
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Ugo Bassi 58B, 35131 Padova, Italy.
| | - Hans J Herrmann
- Departamento de Fisica, Universitade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza 60451-970, Ceara, Brazil; PMMH, ESPCI, 7 quai St. Bernard, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Liborio Parrino
- Sleep Disorders Center, Department of Neurosciences, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Silvia Scarpetta
- Department of Physics, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; INFN sez, Napoli Gr. Coll, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Anna Elisabetta Vaudano
- Neurology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria of Modena, OCB Hospital, 41125 Modena, Italy; Department of Biomedical, Metabolic, and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Lucilla de Arcangelis
- Department of Mathematics and Physics, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Viale Lincoln 5, 81100 Caserta, Italy.
| | - Oren Shriki
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-sheva, Israel.
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7
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Petrie J, Kowallis LR, Kamhout S, Bills KB, Adams D, Fleming DE, Brown BL, Steffensen SC. Gender-Specific Interactions in a Visual Object Recognition Task in Persons with Opioid Use Disorder. Biomedicines 2023; 11:2460. [PMID: 37760905 PMCID: PMC10525754 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11092460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Opioid use disorder (OUD)-associated overdose deaths have reached epidemic proportions worldwide over the past two decades, with death rates for men reported at twice the rate for women. Using a controlled, cross-sectional, age-matched (18-56 y) design to better understand the cognitive neuroscience of OUD, we evaluated the electroencephalographic (EEG) responses of male and female participants with OUD vs. age- and gender-matched non-OUD controls during a simple visual object recognition Go/No-Go task. Overall, women had significantly slower reaction times (RTs) than men. In addition, EEG N200 and P300 event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes for non-OUD controls were significantly larger for men, while their latencies were significantly shorter than for women. However, while N200 and P300 amplitudes were not significantly affected by OUD for either men or women in this task, latencies were also affected differentially in men vs. women with OUD. Accordingly, for both N200 and P300, male OUD participants exhibited longer latencies while female OUD participants exhibited shorter ones than in non-OUD controls. Additionally, robust oscillations were found in all participants during a feedback message associated with performance in the task. Although alpha and beta power during the feedback message were significantly greater for men than women overall, both alpha and beta oscillations exhibited significantly lower power in all participants with OUD. Taken together, these findings suggest important gender by OUD differences in cognitive processing and reflection of performance in this simple visual task.
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Affiliation(s)
- JoAnn Petrie
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA; (J.P.); (K.B.B.)
| | - Logan R. Kowallis
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA; (J.P.); (K.B.B.)
| | - Sarah Kamhout
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA; (J.P.); (K.B.B.)
| | - Kyle B. Bills
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA; (J.P.); (K.B.B.)
- Department of Neuroscience, Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, Provo, UT 84606, USA
| | - Daniel Adams
- PhotoPharmics, Inc., 947 So, 500 E, Suite 100, American Fork, UT 84003, USA
| | - Donovan E. Fleming
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA; (J.P.); (K.B.B.)
| | - Bruce L. Brown
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA; (J.P.); (K.B.B.)
| | - Scott C. Steffensen
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA; (J.P.); (K.B.B.)
- Department of Neuroscience, Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, Provo, UT 84606, USA
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8
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Menétrey MQ, Herzog MH, Pascucci D. Pre-stimulus alpha activity modulates long-lasting unconscious feature integration. Neuroimage 2023; 278:120298. [PMID: 37517573 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pre-stimulus alpha (α) activity can influence perception of shortly presented, low-contrast stimuli. The underlying mechanisms are often thought to affect perception exactly at the time of presentation. In addition, it is suggested that α cycles determine temporal windows of integration. However, in everyday situations, stimuli are usually presented for periods longer than ∼100 ms and perception is often an integration of information across space and time. Moving objects are just one example. Hence, the question is whether α activity plays a role also in temporal integration, especially when stimuli are integrated over several α cycles. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we investigated the relationship between pre-stimulus brain activity and long-lasting integration in the sequential metacontrast paradigm (SQM), where two opposite vernier offsets, embedded in a stream of lines, are unconsciously integrated into a single percept. We show that increases in α power, even 300 ms before the stimulus, affected the probability of reporting the first offset, shown at the very beginning of the SQM. This effect was mediated by the systematic slowing of the α rhythm that followed the peak in α power. No phase effects were found. Together, our results demonstrate a cascade of neural changes, following spontaneous bursts of α activity and extending beyond a single moment, which influences the sensory representation of visual features for hundreds of milliseconds. Crucially, as feature integration in the SQM occurs before a conscious percept is elicited, this also provides evidence that α activity is linked to mechanisms regulating unconscious processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maëlan Q Menétrey
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Michael H Herzog
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - David Pascucci
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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9
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Shen L, Wu Z, Yue Z, Li B, Chen Q, Han B. Prior Knowledge Uses Prestimulus Alpha Band Oscillations and Persistent Poststimulus Neural Templates for Conscious Perception. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6164-6175. [PMID: 37536980 PMCID: PMC10476639 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0263-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Prior knowledge has a profound impact on the way we perceive the world. However, it remains unclear how the prior knowledge is maintained in our brains and thereby influences the subsequent conscious perception. The Dalmatian dog illusion is a perfect tool to study prior knowledge, where the picture is initially perceived as noise. Once the prior knowledge was introduced, a Dalmatian dog could be consciously seen, and the picture immediately became meaningful. Using pictures with hidden objects as standard stimuli and similar pictures without hidden objects as deviant stimuli, we investigated the neural representation of prior knowledge and its impact on conscious perception in an oddball paradigm using electroencephalogram (EEG) in both male and female human subjects. We found that the neural patterns between the prestimulus alpha band oscillations and poststimulus EEG activity were significantly more similar for the standard stimuli than for the deviant stimuli after prior knowledge was provided. Furthermore, decoding analysis revealed that persistent neural templates were evoked after the introduction of prior knowledge, similar to that evoked in the early stages of visual processing. In conclusion, the current study suggests that prior knowledge uses alpha band oscillations in a multivariate manner in the prestimulus period and induces specific persistent neural templates in the poststimulus period, enabling the conscious perception of the hidden objects.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The visual world we live in is not always optimal. In dark or noisy environments, prior knowledge can help us interpret imperfect sensory signals and enable us to consciously perceive hidden objects. However, we still know very little about how prior knowledge works at the neural level. Using the Dalmatian dog illusion and multivariate methods, we found that prior knowledge uses prestimulus alpha band oscillations to carry information about the hidden object and exerts a persistent influence in the poststimulus period by inducing specific neural templates. Our findings provide a window into the neural underpinnings of prior knowledge and offer new insights into the role of alpha band oscillations and neural templates associated with conscious perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Shen
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Zehua Wu
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Zhenzhu Yue
- Department of Psychology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Bing Li
- Department of Psychology, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
| | - Qi Chen
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Biao Han
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
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10
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Duncan DH, van Moorselaar D, Theeuwes J. Pinging the brain to reveal the hidden attentional priority map using encephalography. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4749. [PMID: 37550310 PMCID: PMC10406833 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40405-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Attention has been usefully thought of as organized in priority maps - putative maps of space where attentional priority is weighted across spatial regions in a winner-take-all competition for attentional deployment. Recent work has highlighted the influence of past experiences on the weighting of spatial priority - called selection history. Aside from being distinct from more well-studied, top-down forms of attentional enhancement, little is known about the neural substrates of history-mediated attentional priority. Using a task known to induce statistical learning of target distributions, in an EEG study we demonstrate that this otherwise invisible, latent attentional priority map can be visualized during the intertrial period using a 'pinging' technique in conjunction with multivariate pattern analyses. Our findings not only offer a method of visualizing the history-mediated attentional priority map, but also shed light on the underlying mechanisms allowing our past experiences to influence future behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dock H Duncan
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Institute Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA), Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Dirk van Moorselaar
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Institute Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA), Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jan Theeuwes
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Institute Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA), Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitario, Lisbon, Portugal
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11
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Ester EF, Nouri A. Internal selective attention is delayed by competition between endogenous and exogenous factors. iScience 2023; 26:107259. [PMID: 37519902 PMCID: PMC10371823 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
External attention is mediated by competition between endogenous (goal-driven) and exogenous (stimulus-driven) factors, with the balance of competition determining which stimuli are selected. Occasionally, exogenous factors "win" this competition and drive the selection of task-irrelevant stimuli. Endogenous and exogenous selection mechanisms may also compete to control the selection of internal representations (e.g., those stored in working memory), but whether this competition is resolved in the same way as external attention is unknown. Here, we leveraged the high temporal resolution of human EEG to determine how competition between endogenous and exogenous factors influences the selection of internal representations. Unlike external attention, competition did not prompt the selection of task-irrelevant working memory content. Instead, it delayed the endogenous selection of task-relevant working memory content by several hundred milliseconds. Thus, competition between endogenous and exogenous factors influences internal selective attention, but in a different way than external selective attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward F. Ester
- Department of Psychology and Integrative Neuroscience Program, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Asal Nouri
- Center for Complex Systems & Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL, USA
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12
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Yuasa K, Groen IIA, Piantoni G, Montenegro S, Flinker A, Devore S, Devinsky O, Doyle W, Dugan P, Friedman D, Ramsey N, Petridou N, Winawer J. Precise Spatial Tuning of Visually Driven Alpha Oscillations in Human Visual Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.11.528137. [PMID: 36865223 PMCID: PMC9979988 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.11.528137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
Neuronal oscillations at about 10 Hz, called alpha oscillations, are often thought to arise from synchronous activity across occipital cortex, reflecting general cognitive states such as arousal and alertness. However, there is also evidence that modulation of alpha oscillations in visual cortex can be spatially specific. Here, we used intracranial electrodes in human patients to measure alpha oscillations in response to visual stimuli whose location varied systematically across the visual field. We separated the alpha oscillatory power from broadband power changes. The variation in alpha oscillatory power with stimulus position was then fit by a population receptive field (pRF) model. We find that the alpha pRFs have similar center locations to pRFs estimated from broadband power (70-180 Hz), but are several times larger. The results demonstrate that alpha suppression in human visual cortex can be precisely tuned. Finally, we show how the pattern of alpha responses can explain several features of exogenous visual attention. Significance Statement The alpha oscillation is the largest electrical signal generated by the human brain. An important question in systems neuroscience is the degree to which this oscillation reflects system-wide states and behaviors such as arousal, alertness, and attention, versus much more specific functions in the routing and processing of information. We examined alpha oscillations at high spatial precision in human patients with intracranial electrodes implanted over visual cortex. We discovered a surprisingly high spatial specificity of visually driven alpha oscillations, which we quantified with receptive field models. We further use our discoveries about properties of the alpha response to show a link between these oscillations and the spread of visual attention.
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13
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Chen J, Golomb JD. Dynamic neural reconstructions of attended object location and features using EEG. J Neurophysiol 2023; 130:139-154. [PMID: 37283457 PMCID: PMC10393364 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00180.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Attention allows us to select relevant and ignore irrelevant information from our complex environments. What happens when attention shifts from one item to another? To answer this question, it is critical to have tools that accurately recover neural representations of both feature and location information with high temporal resolution. In the present study, we used human electroencephalography (EEG) and machine learning to explore how neural representations of object features and locations update across dynamic shifts of attention. We demonstrate that EEG can be used to create simultaneous time courses of neural representations of attended features (time point-by-time point inverted encoding model reconstructions) and attended location (time point-by-time point decoding) during both stable periods and across dynamic shifts of attention. Each trial presented two oriented gratings that flickered at the same frequency but had different orientations; participants were cued to attend one of them and on half of trials received a shift cue midtrial. We trained models on a stable period from Hold attention trials and then reconstructed/decoded the attended orientation/location at each time point on Shift attention trials. Our results showed that both feature reconstruction and location decoding dynamically track the shift of attention and that there may be time points during the shifting of attention when 1) feature and location representations become uncoupled and 2) both the previously attended and currently attended orientations are represented with roughly equal strength. The results offer insight into our understanding of attentional shifts, and the noninvasive techniques developed in the present study lend themselves well to a wide variety of future applications.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We used human EEG and machine learning to reconstruct neural response profiles during dynamic shifts of attention. Specifically, we demonstrated that we could simultaneously read out both location and feature information from an attended item in a multistimulus display. Moreover, we examined how that readout evolves over time during the dynamic process of attentional shifts. These results provide insight into our understanding of attention, and this technique carries substantial potential for versatile extensions and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiageng Chen
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States
| | - Julie D Golomb
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States
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14
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Long NM. The intersection of the retrieval state and internal attention. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3861. [PMID: 37386043 PMCID: PMC10310828 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39609-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Large-scale brain states or distributed patterns of brain activity modulate downstream processing and behavior. Sustained attention and memory retrieval states impact subsequent memory, yet how these states relate to one another is unclear. I hypothesize that internal attention is a central process of the retrieval state. The alternative is that the retrieval state specifically reflects a controlled, episodic retrieval mode, engaged only when intentionally accessing events situated within a spatiotemporal context. To test my hypothesis, I developed a mnemonic state classifier independently trained to measure retrieval state evidence and applied this classifier to a spatial attention task. I find that retrieval state evidence increases during delay and response intervals when participants are maintaining spatial information. Critically, retrieval state evidence is positively related to the amount of maintained spatial location information and predicts target detection reaction times. Together, these findings support the hypothesis that internal attention is a central process of the retrieval state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole M Long
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, 22904, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
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15
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Huang H, Li R, Zhang J. A review of visual sustained attention: neural mechanisms and computational models. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15351. [PMID: 37334118 PMCID: PMC10274610 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Sustained attention is one of the basic abilities of humans to maintain concentration on relevant information while ignoring irrelevant information over extended periods. The purpose of the review is to provide insight into how to integrate neural mechanisms of sustained attention with computational models to facilitate research and application. Although many studies have assessed attention, the evaluation of humans' sustained attention is not sufficiently comprehensive. Hence, this study provides a current review on both neural mechanisms and computational models of visual sustained attention. We first review models, measurements, and neural mechanisms of sustained attention and propose plausible neural pathways for visual sustained attention. Next, we analyze and compare the different computational models of sustained attention that the previous reviews have not systematically summarized. We then provide computational models for automatically detecting vigilance states and evaluation of sustained attention. Finally, we outline possible future trends in the research field of sustained attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huimin Huang
- National Engineering Research Center for E-learning, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Rui Li
- National Engineering Research Center for E-learning, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Junsong Zhang
- Brain Cognition and Intelligent Computing Lab, Department of Artificial Intelligence, School of Informatics, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
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16
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Bullock T, Pickett K, Salimian A, Gregory C, MacLean MH, Giesbrecht B. Eye movements disrupt EEG alpha-band coding of behaviorally relevant and irrelevant spatial locations held in working memory. J Neurophysiol 2023; 129:1191-1211. [PMID: 36988227 PMCID: PMC10190932 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00302.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Oscillations in the alpha frequency band (∼8-12 Hz) of the human electroencephalogram play an important role in supporting selective attention to visual items and maintaining their spatial locations in working memory (WM). Recent findings suggest that spatial information maintained in alpha is modulated by interruptions to continuous visual input, such that attention shifts, eye closure, and backward masking of the encoded item cause reconstructed representations of remembered locations to become degraded. Here, we investigated how another common visual disruption-eye movements-modulates reconstructions of behaviorally relevant and irrelevant item locations held in WM. Participants completed a delayed estimation task, where they encoded and recalled either the location or color of an object after a brief retention period. During retention, participants either fixated at the center or executed a sequence of eye movements. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded at the scalp and eye position was monitored with an eye tracker. Inverted encoding modeling (IEM) was applied to reconstruct location-selective responses across multiple frequency bands during encoding and retention. Location-selective responses were successfully reconstructed from alpha activity during retention where participants fixated at the center, but these reconstructions were disrupted during eye movements. Recall performance decreased during eye-movements conditions but remained largely intact, and further analyses revealed that under specific task conditions, it was possible to reconstruct retained location information from lower frequency bands (1-4 Hz) during eye movements. These results suggest that eye movements disrupt maintained spatial information in alpha in a manner consistent with other acute interruptions to continuous visual input, but this information may be represented in other frequency bands.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Neural oscillations in the alpha frequency band support selective attention to visual items and maintenance of their spatial locations in human working memory. Here, we investigate how eye movements disrupt representations of item locations held in working memory. Although it was not possible to recover item locations from alpha during eye movements, retained location information could be recovered from select lower frequency bands. This suggests that during eye movements, stored spatial information may be represented in other frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Bullock
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
| | - Kamryn Pickett
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
| | - Anabel Salimian
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
| | - Caitlin Gregory
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
| | - Mary H MacLean
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
| | - Barry Giesbrecht
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Dynamical Neuroscience, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States
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17
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Popov T, Gips B, Weisz N, Jensen O. Brain areas associated with visual spatial attention display topographic organization during auditory spatial attention. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:3478-3489. [PMID: 35972419 PMCID: PMC10068281 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac285] [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: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 07/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatially selective modulation of alpha power (8-14 Hz) is a robust finding in electrophysiological studies of visual attention, and has been recently generalized to auditory spatial attention. This modulation pattern is interpreted as reflecting a top-down mechanism for suppressing distracting input from unattended directions of sound origin. The present study on auditory spatial attention extends this interpretation by demonstrating that alpha power modulation is closely linked to oculomotor action. We designed an auditory paradigm in which participants were required to attend to upcoming sounds from one of 24 loudspeakers arranged in a circular array around the head. Maintaining the location of an auditory cue was associated with a topographically modulated distribution of posterior alpha power resembling the findings known from visual attention. Multivariate analyses allowed the prediction of the sound location in the horizontal plane. Importantly, this prediction was also possible, when derived from signals capturing saccadic activity. A control experiment on auditory spatial attention confirmed that, in absence of any visual/auditory input, lateralization of alpha power is linked to the lateralized direction of gaze. Attending to an auditory target engages oculomotor and visual cortical areas in a topographic manner akin to the retinotopic organization associated with visual attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tzvetan Popov
- Methods of Plasticity Research, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, 1-80502-784644-50205-B15 2TT, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Bart Gips
- NATO Science and Technology Organization Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) La Spezia, La Spezia 19126, Italy
| | - Nathan Weisz
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Ole Jensen
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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18
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Ester EF, Pytel P. Changes in behavioral priority influence the accessibility of working memory content. Neuroimage 2023; 272:120055. [PMID: 37001833 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Evolving behavioral goals require the existence of selection mechanisms that prioritize task-relevant working memory (WM) content for action. Selecting an item stored in WM is known to blunt and/or reverse information loss in stimulus-specific representations of that item reconstructed from human brain activity, but extant studies have focused on all-or-none circumstances that allow or disallow an agent to select one of several items stored in WM. Conversely, behavioral studies suggest that humans can flexibly assign different levels of priority to different items stored in WM, but how doing so influences neural representations of WM content is unclear. One possibility is that assigning different levels of priority to items in WM influences the quality of those representations, resulting in more robust neural representations of high- vs. low-priority WM content. A second - and non-exclusive - possibility is that asymmetries in behavioral priority influence how rapidly neural representations of high- vs. low-priority WM content can be selected and reported. We tested these possibilities in two experiments by decoding high- and low-priority WM content from EEG recordings obtained while human volunteers performed a retrospectively cued WM task. Probabilistic changes in the behavioral relevance of a remembered item had no effect on our ability to decode it from EEG signals; instead, these changes influenced the latency at which above-chance decoding performance was reached. Thus, our results indicate that probabilistic changes in the behavioral relevance of WM content influence the ease with which memories can be selected independently of their strength.
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19
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Zhao C, Kong Y, Li D, Huang J, Kong L, Li X, Jensen O, Song Y. Suppression of distracting inputs by visual-spatial cues is driven by anticipatory alpha activity. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002014. [PMID: 36888690 PMCID: PMC10027229 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
A growing body of research demonstrates that distracting inputs can be proactively suppressed via spatial cues, nonspatial cues, or experience, which are governed by more than one top-down mechanism of attention. However, how the neural mechanisms underlying spatial distractor cues guide proactive suppression of distracting inputs remains unresolved. Here, we recorded electroencephalography signals from 110 participants in 3 experiments to identify the role of alpha activity in proactive distractor suppression induced by spatial cues and its influence on subsequent distractor inhibition. Behaviorally, we found novel changes in the spatial proximity of the distractor: Cueing distractors far away from the target improves search performance for the target, while cueing distractors close to the target hampers performance. Crucially, we found dynamic characteristics of spatial representation for distractor suppression during anticipation. This result was further verified by alpha power increased relatively contralateral to the cued distractor. At both the between- and within-subjects levels, we found that these activities further predicted the decrement of the subsequent PD component, which was indicative of reduced distractor interference. Moreover, anticipatory alpha activity and its link with the subsequent PD component were specific to the high predictive validity of distractor cue. Together, our results reveal the underlying neural mechanisms by which cueing the spatial distractor may contribute to reduced distractor interference. These results also provide evidence supporting the role of alpha activity as gating by proactive suppression.
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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, China
- Center for Cognition and Neuroergonomics, State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China
- School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- International Academic Center of Complex Systems, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Yuanjun Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Dongwei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Cognition and Neuroergonomics, State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Lujiao Kong
- School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoli Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Center for Cognition and Neuroergonomics, State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Ole Jensen
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Yan Song
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning &IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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20
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Cai Y, Fulvio JM, Samaha J, Postle BR. Context Binding in Visual Working Memory Is Reflected in Bilateral Event-Related Potentials, But Not in Contralateral Delay Activity. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0207-22.2022. [PMID: 36265905 PMCID: PMC9652780 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0207-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful retrieval of a specific item from visual working memory (VWM) depends on the binding of that item to its unique context. Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of VWM manipulating memory set homogeneity have identified an important role for the intraparietal sulcus in context binding, independent of any role in representing stimulus identity. The current study explored whether the contralateral delay activity (CDA), which is an event-related potential (ERP) component derived from posterior electrodes that tracks the amount of information held in VWM, might also be sensitive to context-binding demands. In experiment 1, human participants performed lateralized delayed recognition with memory sets containing one, three, or five items that were drawn from the same category (orientations: "homogeneous") or from different categories (orientation, color, and luminance: "heterogeneous"). Because the location and identity of the memory probe indicated the item to be retrieved, homogeneous trials placed higher context-binding demands. VWM capacity was higher in heterogeneous trials. ERPs contralateral (contra) and ipsilateral (ipsi) to the remembered stimuli were higher for homogeneous trials, but these differences were removed in the contra - ipsi subtraction that produced the CDA. In experiment 2, human participants performed lateralized delayed recall with memory sets of one or three items (homogeneous or heterogeneous). Behavior was superior for three-item heterogeneous trials than for homogeneous trials, with modeling revealing context-binding errors in the latter. Bilateral ERPs and CDA results replicated experiment 1. These results support that the CDA tracks the number of object files engaged by VWM and establish that it is not sensitive to context-binding demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Cai
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310007, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jacqueline M. Fulvio
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Jason Samaha
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064
| | - Bradley R. Postle
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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21
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Higgins C, van Es MWJ, Quinn AJ, Vidaurre D, Woolrich MW. The relationship between frequency content and representational dynamics in the decoding of neurophysiological data. Neuroimage 2022; 260:119462. [PMID: 35872176 PMCID: PMC10565838 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Decoding of high temporal resolution, stimulus-evoked neurophysiological data is increasingly used to test theories about how the brain processes information. However, a fundamental relationship between the frequency spectra of the neural signal and the subsequent decoding accuracy timecourse is not widely recognised. We show that, in commonly used instantaneous signal decoding paradigms, each sinusoidal component of the evoked response is translated to double its original frequency in the subsequent decoding accuracy timecourses. We therefore recommend, where researchers use instantaneous signal decoding paradigms, that more aggressive low pass filtering is applied with a cut-off at one quarter of the sampling rate, to eliminate representational alias artefacts. However, this does not negate the accompanying interpretational challenges. We show that these can be resolved by decoding paradigms that utilise both a signal's instantaneous magnitude and its local gradient information as features for decoding. On a publicly available MEG dataset, this results in decoding accuracy metrics that are higher, more stable over time, and free of the technical and interpretational challenges previously characterised. We anticipate that a broader awareness of these fundamental relationships will enable stronger interpretations of decoding results by linking them more clearly to the underlying signal characteristics that drive them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron Higgins
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Mats W J van Es
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Andrew J Quinn
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Diego Vidaurre
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Mark W Woolrich
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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22
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van Es MWJ, Marshall TR, Spaak E, Jensen O, Schoffelen J. Phasic modulation of visual representations during sustained attention. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:3191-3208. [PMID: 33319447 PMCID: PMC9543919 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Sustained attention has long been thought to benefit perception in a continuous fashion, but recent evidence suggests that it affects perception in a discrete, rhythmic way. Periodic fluctuations in behavioral performance over time, and modulations of behavioral performance by the phase of spontaneous oscillatory brain activity point to an attentional sampling rate in the theta or alpha frequency range. We investigated whether such discrete sampling by attention is reflected in periodic fluctuations in the decodability of visual stimulus orientation from magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain signals. In this exploratory study, human subjects attended one of the two grating stimuli, while MEG was being recorded. We assessed the strength of the visual representation of the attended stimulus using a support vector machine (SVM) to decode the orientation of the grating (clockwise vs. counterclockwise) from the MEG signal. We tested whether decoder performance depended on the theta/alpha phase of local brain activity. While the phase of ongoing activity in the visual cortex did not modulate decoding performance, theta/alpha phase of activity in the frontal eye fields and parietal cortex, contralateral to the attended stimulus did modulate decoding performance. These findings suggest that phasic modulations of visual stimulus representations in the brain are caused by frequency-specific top-down activity in the frontoparietal attention network, though the behavioral relevance of these effects could not be established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mats W. J. van Es
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud University NijmegenNijmegenThe Netherlands
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative NeuroimagingUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Tom R. Marshall
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud University NijmegenNijmegenThe Netherlands
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative NeuroimagingUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Eelke Spaak
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud University NijmegenNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Ole Jensen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud University NijmegenNijmegenThe Netherlands
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUK
| | - Jan‐Mathijs Schoffelen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud University NijmegenNijmegenThe Netherlands
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23
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Pietrelli M, Samaha J, Postle BR. Spectral Distribution Dynamics across Different Attentional Priority States. J Neurosci 2022; 42:4026-4041. [PMID: 35387871 PMCID: PMC9097778 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2318-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Anticipatory covert spatial attention improves performance on tests of visual detection and discrimination, and shifts are accompanied by decreases and increases of α band power at electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes corresponding to the attended and unattended location, respectively. Although the increase at the unattended location is often interpreted as an active mechanism (e.g., inhibiting processing at the unattended location), most experiments cannot rule out the alternative possibility that it is a secondary consequence of selection elsewhere. To adjudicate between these accounts, we designed a Posner-style visual cueing task in which male and female human participants made orientation judgments of targets appearing at one of four locations: up, down, right, or left. Critically, trials were blocked such that within a block the locations along one meridian alternated in status between attended and unattended, and targets never appeared at the other two, making them irrelevant. Analyses of the concurrently measured EEG signal were conducted on "traditional" narrowband α (8-14 Hz), as well as on two components resulting from the decomposition of this signal: "periodic" α; and the slope of the aperiodic 1/f-like component. Although data from right-left blocks replicated the familiar pattern of lateralized asymmetry in narrowband α power, with neither α signal could we find evidence for any difference in the time course at unattended versus irrelevant locations, an outcome consistent with the secondary-consequence interpretation of attention-related dynamics in the α band. Additionally, 1/f slope was shallower at attended and unattended locations, relative to irrelevant, suggesting a tonic adjustment of physiological state.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Visual spatial attention, the prioritization of one location in the visual field, is critical for guiding behavior in cluttered environments. Although influential theories posit an important role for α band oscillations in the inhibition of processing at unattended locations, we used a novel procedure to find evidence for an alternative interpretation: selection of one location may simply result in a return to physiological baseline at all others. In addition to determining one way that attention does not work (important for future progress in this field), we also discovered novel evidence for one way that it does work: by modifying the tonic physiological state (indexed by an aperiodic component of the electroencephalography (EEG)] at locations where spatial selection is likely to occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Pietrelli
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53719
| | - Jason Samaha
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064
| | - Bradley R Postle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53719
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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24
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Arana L, Melcón M, Kessel D, Hoyos S, Albert J, Carretié L, Capilla A. Suppression of alpha-band power underlies exogenous attention to emotional distractors. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14051. [PMID: 35318692 PMCID: PMC9540775 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Alpha-band oscillations (8-14 Hz) are essential for attention and perception processes by facilitating the selection of relevant information. Directing visuospatial endogenous (voluntary) attention to a given location consistently results in a power suppression of alpha activity over occipito-parietal areas contralateral to the attended visual field. In contrast, the neural oscillatory dynamics underlying the involuntary capture of attention, or exogenous attention, are currently under debate. By exploiting the inherent capacity of emotionally salient visual stimuli to capture attention, we aimed to investigate whether exogenous attention is characterized by either a reduction or an increase in alpha-band activity. Electroencephalographic activity was recorded while participants completed a Posner visuospatial cueing task, in which a lateralized image with either positive, negative, or neutral emotional content competed with a target stimulus presented in the opposite hemifield. Compared with trials with no distractors, alpha power was reduced over occipital regions contralateral to distracting images. This reduction of alpha activity turned out to be functionally relevant, as it correlated with impaired behavioral performance on the ongoing task and was enhanced for distractors with negative valence. Taken together, our results demonstrate that visuospatial exogenous attention is characterized by a suppression of alpha-band activity contralateral to distractor location, similar to the oscillatory underpinnings of endogenous attention. Further, these results highlight the key role of exogenous attention as an adaptive mechanism for the efficient detection of biologically salient stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Arana
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Melcón
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Dominique Kessel
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sandra Hoyos
- Departamento de Neurociencia y Aprendizaje, Universidad Católica de Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Jacobo Albert
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Carretié
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Almudena Capilla
- Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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25
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Fabio C, Salemme R, Koun E, Farnè A, Miller LE. Alpha Oscillations Are Involved in Localizing Touch on Handheld Tools. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34:675-686. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The sense of touch is not restricted to the body but can also extend to external objects. When we use a handheld tool to contact an object, we feel the touch on the tool and not in the hand holding the tool. The ability to perceive touch on a tool actually extends along its entire surface, allowing the user to accurately localize where it is touched similarly as they would on their body. Although the neural mechanisms underlying the ability to localize touch on the body have been largely investigated, those allowing to localize touch on a tool are still unknown. We aimed to fill this gap by recording the electroencephalography signal of participants while they localized tactile stimuli on a handheld rod. We focused on oscillatory activity in the alpha (7–14 Hz) and beta (15–30 Hz) ranges, as they have been previously linked to distinct spatial codes used to localize touch on the body. Beta activity reflects the mapping of touch in skin-based coordinates, whereas alpha activity reflects the mapping of touch in external space. We found that alpha activity was solely modulated by the location of tactile stimuli applied on a handheld rod. Source reconstruction suggested that this alpha power modulation was localized in a network of fronto-parietal regions previously implicated in higher-order tactile and spatial processing. These findings are the first to implicate alpha oscillations in tool-extended sensing and suggest an important role for processing touch in external space when localizing touch on a tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Fabio
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
| | - Romeo Salemme
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
| | - Eric Koun
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
- University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Luke E. Miller
- ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France
- University of Lyon 1, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion, France
- Donders Institute for Brain, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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26
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Dahl MJ, Mather M, Werkle-Bergner M. Noradrenergic modulation of rhythmic neural activity shapes selective attention. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:38-52. [PMID: 34799252 PMCID: PMC8678372 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
During moments involving selective attention, the thalamus orchestrates the preferential processing of prioritized information by coordinating rhythmic neural activity within a distributed frontoparietal network. The timed release of neuromodulators from subcortical structures dynamically sculpts neural synchronization in thalamocortical networks to meet current attentional demands. In particular, noradrenaline modulates the balance of cortical excitation and inhibition, as reflected by thalamocortical alpha synchronization (~8-12 Hz). These neuromodulatory adjustments facilitate the selective processing of prioritized information. Thus, by disrupting effective rhythmic coordination in attention networks, age-related locus coeruleus (LC) degeneration can impair higher levels of neural processing. In sum, findings across different levels of analysis and modalities shed light on how the noradrenergic modulation of neural synchronization helps to shape selective attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin J Dahl
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Mara Mather
- Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 90089 Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Markus Werkle-Bergner
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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27
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Yu Q, Postle BR. The Neural Codes Underlying Internally Generated Representations in Visual Working Memory. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 33:1142-1157. [PMID: 34428785 PMCID: PMC8594925 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Humans can construct rich subjective experience even when no information is available in the external world. Here, we investigated the neural representation of purely internally generated stimulus-like information during visual working memory. Participants performed delayed recall of oriented gratings embedded in noise with varying contrast during fMRI scanning. Their trialwise behavioral responses provided an estimate of their mental representation of the to-be-reported orientation. We used multivariate inverted encoding models to reconstruct the neural representations of orientation in reference to the response. We found that response orientation could be successfully reconstructed from activity in early visual cortex, even on 0% contrast trials when no orientation information was actually presented, suggesting the existence of a purely internally generated neural code in early visual cortex. In addition, cross-generalization and multidimensional scaling analyses demonstrated that information derived from internal sources was represented differently from typical working memory representations, which receive influences from both external and internal sources. Similar results were also observed in intraparietal sulcus, with slightly different cross-generalization patterns. These results suggest a potential mechanism for how externally driven and internally generated information is maintained in working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Yu
- Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
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28
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De Sousa C, Gaillard C, Di Bello F, Ben Hadj Hassen S, Ben Hamed S. Behavioral validation of novel high resolution attention decoding method from multi-units & local field potentials. Neuroimage 2021; 231:117853. [PMID: 33582274 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to access brain information in real-time is crucial both for a better understanding of cognitive functions and for the development of therapeutic applications based on brain-machine interfaces. Great success has been achieved in the field of neural motor prosthesis. Progress is still needed in the real-time decoding of higher-order cognitive processes such as covert attention. Recently, we showed that we can track the location of the attentional spotlight using classification methods applied to prefrontal multi-unit activity (MUA) in the non-human primates. Importantly, we demonstrated that the decoded (x,y) attentional spotlight parametrically correlates with the behavior of the monkeys thus validating our decoding of attention. We also demonstrate that this spotlight is extremely dynamic. Here, in order to get closer to non-invasive decoding applications, we extend our previous work to local field potential signals (LFP). Specifically, we achieve, for the first time, high decoding accuracy of the (x,y) location of the attentional spotlight from prefrontal LFP signals, to a degree comparable to that achieved from MUA signals, and we show that this LFP content is predictive of behavior. This LFP attention-related information is maximal in the gamma band (30-250 Hz), peaking between 60 to 120 Hz. In addition, we introduce a novel two-step decoding procedure based on the labelling of maximally attention-informative trials during the decoding procedure. This procedure strongly improves the correlation between our real-time MUA and LFP based decoding and behavioral performance, thus further refining the functional relevance of this real-time decoding of the (x,y) locus of attention. This improvement is more marked for LFP signals than for MUA signals. Overall, this study demonstrates that the attentional spotlight can be accessed from LFP frequency content, in real-time, and can be used to drive high-information content cognitive brain-machine interfaces for the development of new therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carine De Sousa
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR 5229, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France.
| | - C Gaillard
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR 5229, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France
| | - F Di Bello
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR 5229, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France
| | - S Ben Hadj Hassen
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR 5229, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France
| | - S Ben Hamed
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS UMR 5229, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France.
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29
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Sutterer DW, Polyn SM, Woodman GF. α-Band activity tracks a two-dimensional spotlight of attention during spatial working memory maintenance. J Neurophysiol 2021; 125:957-971. [PMID: 33534657 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00582.2020] [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] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Covert spatial attention is thought to facilitate the maintenance of locations in working memory, and EEG α-band activity (8-12 Hz) is proposed to track the focus of covert attention. Recent work has shown that multivariate patterns of α-band activity track the polar angle of remembered locations relative to fixation. However, a defining feature of covert spatial attention is that it facilitates processing in a specific region of the visual field, and prior work has not determined whether patterns of α-band activity track the two-dimensional (2-D) coordinates of remembered stimuli within a visual hemifield or are instead maximally sensitive to the polar angle of remembered locations around fixation. Here, we used a lateralized spatial estimation task, in which observers remembered the location of one or two target dots presented to one side of fixation, to test this question. By applying a linear discriminant classifier to the topography of α-band activity, we found that we were able to decode the location of remembered stimuli. Critically, model comparison revealed that the pattern of classifier choices observed across remembered positions was best explained by a model assuming that α-band activity tracks the 2-D coordinates of remembered locations rather than a model assuming that α-band activity tracks the polar angle of remembered locations relative to fixation. These results support the hypothesis that this α-band activity is involved in the spotlight of attention, and arises from mid- to lower-level visual areas involved in maintaining spatial locations in working memory.NEW & NOTEWORTHY A substantial body of work has shown that patterns of EEG α-band activity track the angular coordinates of attended and remembered stimuli around fixation, but whether these patterns track the two-dimensional coordinates of stimuli presented within a visual hemifield remains an open question. Here, we demonstrate that α-band activity tracks the two-dimensional coordinates of remembered stimuli within a hemifield, showing that α-band activity reflects a spotlight of attention focused on locations maintained in working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W Sutterer
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Sean M Polyn
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Geoffrey F Woodman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
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30
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Covert Attention Increases the Gain of Stimulus-Evoked Population Codes. J Neurosci 2021; 41:1802-1815. [PMID: 33441434 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2186-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Covert spatial attention has a variety of effects on the responses of individual neurons. However, relatively little is known about the net effect of these changes on sensory population codes, even though perception ultimately depends on population activity. Here, we measured the EEG in human observers (male and female), and isolated stimulus-evoked activity that was phase-locked to the onset of attended and ignored visual stimuli. Using an encoding model, we reconstructed spatially selective population tuning functions from the pattern of stimulus-evoked activity across the scalp. Our EEG-based approach allowed us to measure very early visually evoked responses occurring ∼100 ms after stimulus onset. In Experiment 1, we found that covert attention increased the amplitude of spatially tuned population responses at this early stage of sensory processing. In Experiment 2, we parametrically varied stimulus contrast to test how this effect scaled with stimulus contrast. We found that the effect of attention on the amplitude of spatially tuned responses increased with stimulus contrast, and was well described by an increase in response gain (i.e., a multiplicative scaling of the population response). Together, our results show that attention increases the gain of spatial population codes during the first wave of visual processing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We know relatively little about how attention improves population codes, even though perception is thought to critically depend on population activity. In this study, we used an encoding-model approach to test how attention modulates the spatial tuning of stimulus-evoked population responses measured with EEG. We found that attention multiplicatively scales the amplitude of spatially tuned population responses. Furthermore, this effect was present within 100 ms of stimulus onset. Thus, our results show that attention improves spatial population codes by increasing their gain at this early stage of processing.
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31
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Munneke J, Fahrenfort JJ, Sutterer D, Theeuwes J, Awh E. Multivariate analysis of EEG activity indexes contingent attentional capture. Neuroimage 2020; 226:117562. [PMID: 33189931 PMCID: PMC8084109 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2018] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
An extensive body of work has shown that attentional capture is contingent on the goals of the observer: Capture is strongly reduced or even eliminated when an irrelevant singleton stimulus does not match the target-defining properties (Folk et al., 1992). There has been a long-standing debate on whether attentional capture can be explained by goal-driven and/or stimulus-driven accounts. Here, we shed further light on this matter by using EEG activity (raw EEG and alpha power) to provide a time-resolved index of attentional orienting towards salient stimuli that either matched or did not match target-defining properties. A search display containing the target stimulus was preceded by a spatially uninformative singleton cue that either matched the color of the upcoming target (contingent cues), or that appeared in an irrelevant color (non-contingent cues). Multivariate analysis of raw EEG and alpha power revealed preferential tuning to the location of both contingent and non-contingent cues, with a stronger bias towards contingent than non-contingent cues. The time course of these effects, however, depended on the neural signal. Raw EEG data revealed attentional orienting towards the contingent cue early on in the trial (>156 ms), while alpha power revealed sustained spatial selection in the cued locations at a later moment in the trial (>250 ms). Moreover, while raw EEG showed stronger capture by contingent cues during this early time window, an advantage for contingent cues arose during a later time window in alpha band activity. Thus, our findings suggest that raw EEG activity and alpha-band power tap into distinct neural processes that index separate aspects of covert spatial attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaap Munneke
- College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, UB8 3PH Uxbridge, UK; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Brunel University London, UK; Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Johannes Jacobus Fahrenfort
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Jan Theeuwes
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Edward Awh
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, USA; Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, USA
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32
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Barne LC, de Lange FP, Cravo AM. Prestimulus alpha power is related to the strength of stimulus representation. Cortex 2020; 132:250-257. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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33
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Desantis A, Chan-Hon-Tong A, Collins T, Hogendoorn H, Cavanagh P. Decoding the Temporal Dynamics of Covert Spatial Attention Using Multivariate EEG Analysis: Contributions of Raw Amplitude and Alpha Power. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:570419. [PMID: 33192401 PMCID: PMC7586305 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.570419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention can be oriented in space covertly without the need of eye movements. We used multivariate pattern classification analyses (MVPA) to investigate whether the time course of the deployment of covert spatial attention leading up to the observer’s perceptual decision can be decoded from both EEG alpha power and raw activity traces. Decoding attention from these signals can help determine whether raw EEG signals and alpha power reflect the same or distinct features of attentional selection. Using a classical cueing task, we showed that the orientation of covert spatial attention can be decoded by both signals. However, raw activity and alpha power may reflect different features of spatial attention, with alpha power more associated with the orientation of covert attention in space and raw activity with the influence of attention on perceptual processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Desantis
- Département Traitement de l'Information et Systèmes, ONERA, Palaiseau, France.,Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (UMR 8002), CNRS and Université de Paris, Paris, France.,Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (UMR 7289), CNRS and Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
| | | | - Thérèse Collins
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (UMR 8002), CNRS and Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Hinze Hogendoorn
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Patrick Cavanagh
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (UMR 8002), CNRS and Université de Paris, Paris, France.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.,Department of Psychology, Glendon College, North York, ON, Canada
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34
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Spontaneous Brain Oscillations and Perceptual Decision-Making. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:639-653. [PMID: 32513573 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Making rapid decisions on the basis of sensory information is essential to everyday behaviors. Why, then, are perceptual decisions so variable despite unchanging inputs? Spontaneous neural oscillations have emerged as a key predictor of trial-to-trial perceptual variability. New work casting these effects in the framework of models of perceptual decision-making has driven novel insight into how the amplitude of spontaneous oscillations impact decision-making. This synthesis reveals that the amplitude of ongoing low-frequency oscillations (<30 Hz), particularly in the alpha-band (8-13 Hz), bias sensory responses and change conscious perception but not, surprisingly, the underlying sensitivity of perception. A key model-based insight is that various decision thresholds do not adapt to alpha-related changes in sensory activity, demonstrating a seeming suboptimality of decision mechanisms in tracking endogenous changes in sensory responses.
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35
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Yu Q, Teng C, Postle BR. Different states of priority recruit different neural representations in visual working memory. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000769. [PMID: 32598358 PMCID: PMC7351225 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural codes for representing stimulus information held in different states of priority in working memory. Human participants (male and female) performed delayed recall for 2 oriented gratings that could appear in any of several locations. Priority status was manipulated by a retrocue, such that one became the prioritized memory item (PMI) and another the unprioritized memory item (UMI). Using inverted encoding models (IEMs), we found that, in early visual cortex, the orientation of the UMI was represented in a neural representation that was rotated relative to the PMI. In intraparietal sulcus (IPS), we observed the analogous effect for the representation of the location of the UMI. Taken together, these results provide evidence for a common remapping mechanism that may be responsible for representing stimulus identity and stimulus context with different levels of priority in working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Yu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Chunyue Teng
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Bradley R. Postle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
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36
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Antonov PA, Chakravarthi R, Andersen SK. Too little, too late, and in the wrong place: Alpha band activity does not reflect an active mechanism of selective attention. Neuroimage 2020; 219:117006. [PMID: 32485307 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Selective attention focuses visual processing on relevant stimuli in order to allow for adaptive behaviour despite an abundance of distracting information. It has been proposed that increases in alpha band (8-12 Hz) amplitude reflect an active mechanism for distractor suppression. If this were the case, increases in alpha band amplitude should be succeeded by a decrease in distractor processing. Surprisingly, this connection has not been tested directly; specifically, studies that have investigated changes in alpha band after attention-directing cues have not directly assessed the neuronal processing of distractors. We concurrently recorded alpha activity and steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) to assess the processing of target and distractor stimuli. In two experiments, participants covertly shifted attention to one of two letter streams (left or right) to detect infrequent target letters 'X' while ignoring the other stream. In line with previous findings, alpha band amplitudes contralateral to the unattended location increased compared to a pre-cue baseline. However, there was no suppression of SSVEP amplitudes elicited by unattended stimuli, while there was a pronounced enhancement of SSVEPs elicited by attended stimuli. Furthermore, and crucially, changes in alpha band amplitude during attention shifts did not precede those in SSVEPs and hit rates in both experiments, indicating that changes in alpha band amplitudes are likely to be a consequence of attention shifts rather than the other way around. We conclude that these findings contradict the notion that alpha band activity reflects mechanisms that have a causal role in the allocation of selective attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Plamen A Antonov
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UB, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Søren K Andersen
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UB, United Kingdom
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37
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Sahoo B, Pathak A, Deco G, Banerjee A, Roy D. Lifespan associated global patterns of coherent neural communication. Neuroimage 2020; 216:116824. [PMID: 32289459 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Healthy ageing is accompanied by changes to spontaneous electromagnetic oscillations. At the macroscopic scale, previous studies have quantified the basic features, e.g., power and frequencies in rhythms of interest from the perspective of attention, perception, learning and memory. On the other hand, signatures and modes of neural communication have recently been argued to be identifiable from global measures applied on neuro-electromagnetic data such as global coherence that quantifies the degree of togetherness of distributed neural oscillations and metastability that parametrizes the transient dynamics of the network switching between successive stable states. Here, we demonstrate that global coherence and metastability can be informative measures to track healthy ageing dynamics over lifespan and together with the traditional spectral measures provides an attractive explanation of neuronal information processing. Finding normative patterns of brain rhythms in resting state MEG would naturally pave the way for tracking task relevant metrics that could crucially determine cognitive flexibility and performance. While previously reported observations of a reduction in peak alpha frequency and increased beta power in older adults are reflective of changes at individual sensors (during rest and task), global coherence and metastability pinpoint the underlying coordination dynamics over multiple brain areas across the entire lifespan. In addition to replication of the previous observations in a substantially larger lifespan cohort than what was previously reported, we also demonstrate, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, age related changes in coherence and metastability in signals over time scales of neuronal processing. Furthermore, we observed a marked frequency dependence in changes in global coordination dynamics, which, coupled with the long-held view of specific frequency bands subserving different aspects of cognition, hints at differential functional processing roles for slower and faster brain dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bikash Sahoo
- Cognitive Brain Dynamics Lab National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), NH8 Nainwal Mode, 122051, Manesar, Haryana, India
| | - Anagh Pathak
- Cognitive Brain Dynamics Lab National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), NH8 Nainwal Mode, 122051, Manesar, Haryana, India
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Institució Catalana de la Recerc Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Passeig Lluís, Companys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain
| | - Arpan Banerjee
- Cognitive Brain Dynamics Lab National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), NH8 Nainwal Mode, 122051, Manesar, Haryana, India.
| | - Dipanjan Roy
- Cognitive Brain Dynamics Lab National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), NH8 Nainwal Mode, 122051, Manesar, Haryana, India.
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38
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van Moorselaar D, Slagter HA. Inhibition in selective attention. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2020; 1464:204-221. [PMID: 31951294 PMCID: PMC7155061 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Revised: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Our ability to focus on goal-relevant aspects of the environment is critically dependent on our ability to ignore or inhibit distracting information. One perspective is that distractor inhibition is under similar voluntary control as attentional facilitation of target processing. However, a rapidly growing body of research shows that distractor inhibition often relies on prior experience with the distracting information or other mechanisms that need not rely on active representation in working memory. Yet, how and when these different forms of inhibition are neurally implemented remains largely unclear. Here, we review findings from recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies to address this outstanding question. We specifically explore how experience with distracting information may change the processing of that information in the context of current predictive processing views of perception: by modulating a distractor's representation already in anticipation of the distractor, or after integration of top-down and bottom-up sensory signals. We also outline directions for future research necessary to enhance our understanding of how the brain filters out distracting information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk van Moorselaar
- Department of Experimental and Applied PsychologyVrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Institute of Brain and Behavior AmsterdamAmsterdamthe Netherlands
| | - Heleen A. Slagter
- Department of Experimental and Applied PsychologyVrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Institute of Brain and Behavior AmsterdamAmsterdamthe Netherlands
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Shared Physiological Correlates of Multisensory and Expectation-Based Facilitation. eNeuro 2020; 7:ENEURO.0435-19.2019. [PMID: 32075868 PMCID: PMC7070445 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0435-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Perceptual performance in a visual task can be enhanced by simultaneous multisensory information, but can also be enhanced by a symbolic or amodal cue inducing a specific expectation. That similar benefits can arise from multisensory information and within-modality expectation raises the question of whether the underlying neurophysiological processes are the same or distinct. We investigated this by comparing the influence of the following three types of auxiliary probabilistic cues on visual motion discrimination in humans: (1) acoustic motion, (2) a premotion visual symbolic cue, and (3) a postmotion symbolic cue. Using multivariate analysis of the EEG data, we show that both the multisensory and preceding visual symbolic cue enhance the encoding of visual motion direction as reflected by cerebral activity arising from occipital regions ∼200–400 ms post-stimulus onset. This suggests a common or overlapping physiological correlate of cross-modal and intramodal auxiliary information, pointing to a neural mechanism susceptive to both multisensory and more abstract probabilistic cues. We also asked how prestimulus activity shapes the cue–stimulus combination and found a differential influence on the cross-modal and intramodal combination: while alpha power modulated the relative weight of visual motion and the acoustic cue, it did not modulate the behavioral influence of a visual symbolic cue, pointing to differences in how prestimulus activity shapes the combination of multisensory and abstract cues with task-relevant information.
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Deng Y, Choi I, Shinn-Cunningham B. Topographic specificity of alpha power during auditory spatial attention. Neuroimage 2020; 207:116360. [PMID: 31760150 PMCID: PMC9883080 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 10/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual and somatosensory spatial attention both induce parietal alpha (8-14 Hz) oscillations whose topographical distribution depends on the direction of spatial attentional focus. In the auditory domain, contrasts of parietal alpha power for leftward and rightward attention reveal qualitatively similar lateralization; however, it is not clear whether alpha lateralization changes monotonically with the direction of auditory attention as it does for visual spatial attention. In addition, most previous studies of alpha oscillation did not consider individual differences in alpha frequency, but simply analyzed power in a fixed spectral band. Here, we recorded electroencephalography in human subjects when they directed attention to one of five azimuthal locations. After a cue indicating the direction of an upcoming target sequence of spoken syllables (yet before the target began), alpha power changed in a task-specific manner. Individual peak alpha frequencies differed consistently between central electrodes and parieto-occipital electrodes, suggesting multiple neural generators of task-related alpha. Parieto-occipital alpha increased over the hemisphere ipsilateral to attentional focus compared to the contralateral hemisphere, and changed systematically as the direction of attention shifted from far left to far right. These results showing that parietal alpha lateralization changes smoothly with the direction of auditory attention as in visual spatial attention provide further support to the growing evidence that the frontoparietal attention network is supramodal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi Deng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Inyong Choi
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Barbara Shinn-Cunningham
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA,Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA,Corresponding author. Baker Hall 254G, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA. (B. Shinn-Cunningham)
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41
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Covert Spatial Attention Speeds Target Individuation. J Neurosci 2020; 40:2717-2726. [PMID: 32054678 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2962-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Covert spatial attention has long been thought to speed visual processing. Psychophysics studies have shown that target information accrues faster at attended locations than at unattended locations. However, with behavioral evidence alone, it is difficult to determine whether attention speeds visual processing of the target or subsequent postperceptual stages of processing (e.g., converting sensory responses into decision signals). Moreover, although many studies have shown that attention can boost the amplitude of visually evoked neural responses, no robust effect has been observed on the latency of those neural responses. Here, we offer new evidence that may reconcile the neural and behavioral findings. We examined whether covert attention influenced the latency of the N2pc component, an electrophysiological marker of visual selection that has been linked with object individuation-the formation of an object representation that is distinct from the background and from other objects in the scene. To this end, we manipulated whether or not human observers (male and female) covertly attended the location of an impending search target. We found that the target evoked N2pc onset ∼20 ms earlier when the target location was cued than when it was not cued. In a second experiment, we provided a direct replication of this effect, confirming that the effect of attention on N2pc latency is robust. Thus, although attention may not speed the earliest stages of sensory processing, attention does speed the critical transition between raw sensory encoding and the formation of individuated object representations.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Covert spatial attention improves processing at attended locations. Past behavioral studies have shown that information about visual targets accrues faster at attended than at unattended locations. However, it has remained unclear whether attention speeds perceptual analysis or subsequent postperceptual stages of processing. Here, we present robust evidence that attention speeds the N2pc, an electrophysiological signal that indexes the formation of individuated object representations. Our findings show that attention speeds a relatively early stage of perceptual processing while also elucidating the specific perceptual process that is speeded.
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42
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Categorical Biases in Human Occipitoparietal Cortex. J Neurosci 2019; 40:917-931. [PMID: 31862856 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2700-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Categorization allows organisms to generalize existing knowledge to novel stimuli and to discriminate between physically similar yet conceptually different stimuli. Humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents can readily learn arbitrary categories defined by low-level visual features, and learning distorts perceptual sensitivity for category-defining features such that differences between physically similar yet categorically distinct exemplars are enhanced, whereas differences between equally similar but categorically identical stimuli are reduced. We report a possible basis for these distortions in human occipitoparietal cortex. In three experiments, we used an inverted encoding model to recover population-level representations of stimuli from multivoxel and multielectrode patterns of human brain activity while human participants (both sexes) classified continuous stimulus sets into discrete groups. In each experiment, reconstructed representations of to-be-categorized stimuli were systematically biased toward the center of the appropriate category. These biases were largest for exemplars near a category boundary, predicted participants' overt category judgments, emerged shortly after stimulus onset, and could not be explained by mechanisms of response selection or motor preparation. Collectively, our findings suggest that category learning can influence processing at the earliest stages of cortical visual processing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Category learning enhances perceptual sensitivity for physically similar yet categorically different stimuli. We report a possible mechanism for these changes in human occipitoparietal cortex. In three experiments, we used an inverted encoding model to recover population-level representations of stimuli from multivariate patterns in occipitoparietal cortex while participants categorized sets of continuous stimuli into discrete groups. The recovered representations were systematically biased by category membership, with larger biases for exemplars adjacent to a category boundary. These results suggest that mechanisms of categorization shape information processing at the earliest stages of the visual system.
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43
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Feldmann-Wüstefeld T, Awh E. Alpha-band Activity Tracks the Zoom Lens of Attention. J Cogn Neurosci 2019; 32:272-282. [PMID: 31633465 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Voluntary control over spatial attention has been likened to the operation of a zoom lens, such that processing quality declines as the size of the attended region increases, with a gradient of performance that peaks at the center of the selected area. Although concurrent changes in activity in visual regions suggest that zoom lens adjustments influence perceptual stages of processing, extant work has not distinguished between changes in the spatial selectivity of attention-driven neural activity and baseline shift of activity that can increase mean levels of activity without changes in selectivity. Here, we distinguished between these alternatives by measuring EEG activity in humans to track preparatory changes in alpha activity that indexed the precise topography of attention across the possible target positions. We observed increased spatial selectivity in alpha activity when observers voluntarily directed attention toward a narrower region of space, a pattern that was mirrored in target discrimination accuracy. Thus, alpha activity tracks both the centroid and spatial extent of covert spatial attention before the onset of the target display, lending support to the hypothesis that narrowing the zoom lens of attention shapes the initial encoding of sensory information.
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44
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Deng Y, Choi I, Shinn-Cunningham B, Baumgartner R. Impoverished auditory cues limit engagement of brain networks controlling spatial selective attention. Neuroimage 2019; 202:116151. [PMID: 31493531 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial selective attention enables listeners to process a signal of interest in natural settings. However, most past studies on auditory spatial attention used impoverished spatial cues: presenting competing sounds to different ears, using only interaural differences in time (ITDs) and/or intensity (IIDs), or using non-individualized head-related transfer functions (HRTFs). Here we tested the hypothesis that impoverished spatial cues impair spatial auditory attention by only weakly engaging relevant cortical networks. Eighteen normal-hearing listeners reported the content of one of two competing syllable streams simulated at roughly +30° and -30° azimuth. The competing streams consisted of syllables from two different-sex talkers. Spatialization was based on natural spatial cues (individualized HRTFs), individualized IIDs, or generic ITDs. We measured behavioral performance as well as electroencephalographic markers of selective attention. Behaviorally, subjects recalled target streams most accurately with natural cues. Neurally, spatial attention significantly modulated early evoked sensory response magnitudes only for natural cues, not in conditions using only ITDs or IIDs. Consistent with this, parietal oscillatory power in the alpha band (8-14 Hz; associated with filtering out distracting events from unattended directions) showed significantly less attentional modulation with isolated spatial cues than with natural cues. Our findings support the hypothesis that spatial selective attention networks are only partially engaged by impoverished spatial auditory cues. These results not only suggest that studies using unnatural spatial cues underestimate the neural effects of spatial auditory attention, they also illustrate the importance of preserving natural spatial cues in assistive listening devices to support robust attentional control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi Deng
- Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Inyong Choi
- Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Barbara Shinn-Cunningham
- Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA; Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Robert Baumgartner
- Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA; Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
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45
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MacLean MH, Bullock T, Giesbrecht B. Dual Process Coding of Recalled Locations in Human Oscillatory Brain Activity. J Neurosci 2019; 39:6737-6750. [PMID: 31300523 PMCID: PMC6703892 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0059-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A mental representation of the location of an object can be constructed using sensory information selected from the environment and information stored internally. Human electrophysiological evidence indicates that behaviorally relevant locations, regardless of the source of sensory information, are represented in alpha-band oscillations suggesting a shared process. Here, we present evidence from human subjects of either sex for two distinct alpha-band-based processes that separately support the representation of location, exploiting sensory evidence sampled either externally or internally.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our sensory environment and our internal trains of thought are coded in patterns of brain activity and are used to guide coherent behavior. Oscillations in the alpha-frequency band are a predominant feature of human brain activity. This oscillation plays a central role in both selective attention and working memory, suggesting that these important cognitive functions are mediated by a unitary mechanism. We show that the alpha oscillation reflects two distinct processes, one that is supported by continuous sampling of the external sensory environment, and one that is based on sampling from internal representations coded in visual short-term memory. This represents a significant change in our understanding of the nature of alpha oscillations and their relationship to attention and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary H MacLean
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences,
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, and
| | - Tom Bullock
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, and
| | - Barry Giesbrecht
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences,
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, and
- Graduate Program in Dynamical Neuroscience, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106
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46
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Yeh LC, Yeh YY, Kuo BC. Spatially Specific Attention Mechanisms Are Sensitive to Competition during Visual Search. J Cogn Neurosci 2019; 31:1248-1259. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Extensive studies have focused on selection mechanisms during visual search. One important influence on these mechanisms is the perceptual characteristics of the stimuli. We investigated the impact of perceptual similarity between targets and nontargets (T-N similarity) in a visual search task using EEG. Participants searched for a predefined target letter among five nontargets. The T-N similarity was manipulated with three levels: high, middle, and low. We tested for the influences of T-N similarity on an ERP (e.g., N2pc) and alpha oscillations. We observed a significant N2pc effect across all levels of similarity. The N2pc amplitude was reduced and occurred later for high similarity relative to low and middle similarities. We also showed that the N2pc amplitude was inversely correlated with the RTs across all similarities. Importantly, we found a significant alpha phase adjustment about the same time as the N2pc for high similarity; by contrast, no such effect was observed for middle and low similarities. Finally, we showed a positive correlation between the phase-locking value and the N2pc—the stronger the alpha phase-locking value, the larger the N2pc, when the T-N similarity was high. In conclusion, our results provide novel evidence for multiple competitive mechanisms during visual search.
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47
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Itthipuripat S, Sprague TC, Serences JT. Functional MRI and EEG Index Complementary Attentional Modulations. J Neurosci 2019; 39:6162-6179. [PMID: 31127004 PMCID: PMC6668200 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2519-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Revised: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) are two noninvasive methods commonly used to study neural mechanisms supporting visual attention in humans. Studies using these tools, which have complementary spatial and temporal resolutions, implicitly assume they index similar underlying neural modulations related to external stimulus and internal attentional manipulations. Accordingly, they are often used interchangeably for constraining understanding about the impact of bottom-up and top-down factors on neural modulations. To test this core assumption, we simultaneously manipulated bottom-up sensory inputs by varying stimulus contrast and top-down cognitive modulations by changing the focus of spatial attention. Each of the male and female subjects participated in both fMRI and EEG sessions performing the same experimental paradigm. We found categorically different patterns of attentional modulation on fMRI activity in early visual cortex and early stimulus-evoked potentials measured via EEG (e.g., the P1 component and steady-state visually-evoked potentials): fMRI activation scaled additively with attention, whereas evoked EEG components scaled multiplicatively with attention. However, across longer time scales, a contralateral negative-going potential and oscillatory EEG signals in the alpha band revealed additive attentional modulation patterns like those observed with fMRI. These results challenge prior assumptions that fMRI and early stimulus-evoked potentials measured with EEG can be interchangeably used to index the same neural mechanisms of attentional modulations at different spatiotemporal scales. Instead, fMRI measures of attentional modulations are more closely linked with later EEG components and alpha-band oscillations. Considered together, hemodynamic and electrophysiological signals can jointly constrain understanding of the neural mechanisms supporting cognition.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT fMRI and EEG have been used as tools to measure the location and timing of attentional modulations in visual cortex and are often used interchangeably for constraining computational models under the assumption that they index similar underlying neural processes. However, by varying attentional and stimulus parameters, we found differential patterns of attentional modulations of fMRI activity in early visual cortex and commonly used stimulus-evoked potentials measured via EEG. Instead, across longer time scales, a contralateral negative-going potential and EEG oscillations in the alpha band exhibited attentional modulations similar to those observed with fMRI. Together, these results suggest that different physiological processes assayed by these complementary techniques must be jointly considered when making inferences about the neural underpinnings of cognitive operations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sirawaj Itthipuripat
- Neurosciences Graduate Program,
- Learning Institute
- Futuristic Research in Enigmatic Aesthetics Knowledge Laboratory, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, 10140, Thailand
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, and Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, and
| | - Thomas C Sprague
- Neurosciences Graduate Program,
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106-9660
| | - John T Serences
- Neurosciences Graduate Program
- Department of Psychology
- Kavli Foundation for the Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
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48
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Learning What Is Irrelevant or Relevant: Expectations Facilitate Distractor Inhibition and Target Facilitation through Distinct Neural Mechanisms. J Neurosci 2019; 39:6953-6967. [PMID: 31270162 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0593-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2019] [Revised: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well known that attention can facilitate performance by top-down biasing processing of task-relevant information in advance. Recent findings from behavioral studies suggest that distractor inhibition is not under similar direct control but strongly dependent on expectations derived from previous experience. Yet, how expectations about distracting information influence distractor inhibition at the neural level remains unclear. The current study addressed this outstanding question in three experiments in which search displays with repeating distractor or target locations across trials allowed human observers (male and female) to learn which location to selectively suppress or boost. Behavioral findings demonstrated that both distractor and target location learning resulted in more efficient search, as indexed by faster response times. Crucially, distractor learning benefits were observed without target location foreknowledge, unaffected by the number of possible target locations, and could not be explained by priming alone. To determine how distractor location expectations facilitated performance, we applied a spatial encoding model to EEG data to reconstruct activity in neural populations tuned to distractor or target locations. Target location learning increased neural tuning to target locations in advance, indicative of preparatory biasing. This sensitivity increased after target presentation. By contrast, distractor expectations did not change preparatory spatial tuning. Instead, distractor expectations reduced distractor-specific processing, as reflected in the disappearance of the Pd event-related potential component, a neural marker of distractor inhibition, and decreased decoding accuracy. These findings suggest that the brain may no longer process expected distractors as distractors, once it has learned they can safely be ignored.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We constantly try hard to ignore conspicuous events that distract us from our current goals. Surprisingly, and in contrast to dominant attention theories, ignoring distracting, but irrelevant, events does not seem to be as flexible as is focusing our attention on those same aspects. Instead, distractor suppression appears to strongly rely on learned, context-dependent expectations. Here, we investigated how learning about upcoming distractors changes distractor processing and directly contrasted the underlying neural dynamics to target learning. We show that, while target learning enhanced anticipatory sensory tuning, distractor learning only modulated reactive suppressive processing. These results suggest that expected distractors may no longer be considered distractors by the brain once it has learned that they can safely be ignored.
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49
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Hubbard J, Kikumoto A, Mayr U. EEG Decoding Reveals the Strength and Temporal Dynamics of Goal-Relevant Representations. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9051. [PMID: 31227796 PMCID: PMC6588723 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45333-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Models of action control assume that attentional control settings regulate the processing of lower-level stimulus/response representations. Yet, little is known about how exactly control and sensory/response representations relate to each other to produce goal-directed behavior. Addressing this question requires time-resolved information about the strength of the different, potentially overlapping representations, on a trial-by-trial basis. Using a cued task-switching paradigm, we show that information about relevant representations can be extracted through decoding analyses from the scalp electrophysiological signal (EEG) with high temporal resolution. Peaks in representational strength—indexed through decoding accuracy—proceeded from superficial task cues, to stimulus locations, to features/responses. In addition, attentional-set representations were prominent throughout almost the entire processing cascade. Trial-by-trial analyses provided detailed information about when and to what degree different representations predict performance, with attentional settings emerging as a strong and consistent predictor of within-individual and across-individual variability in performance. Also, the strength of attentional sets was related to target representations early in the post-stimulus period and to feature/response representations at a later period, suggesting control of successive, lower-level representations in a concurrent manner. These results demonstrate a powerful approach towards uncovering different stages of information processing and their relative importance for performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Hubbard
- University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, United States
| | | | - Ulrich Mayr
- University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, United States.
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50
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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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