Spontaneous EEG oscillations reveal periodic sampling of visual attention

An important effect of sustained attention is the facilitation of perception. Although the term "sustained" suggests that this beneficial effect endures continuously as long as something is attended, we present electrophysiological evidence that perception at attended locations is actually...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 107; no. 37; pp. 16048 - 16053
Main Authors Busch, Niko A., VanRullen, Rufin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 14.09.2010
National Acad Sciences
Subjects
Adult
Attention
Behavioral neuroscience
Biological Sciences
Correlation analysis
EEG
Electrodes
Electroencephalography
electrophysiology
Excitability
Female
Frequencies
Humans
Life Sciences
Light effects
Luminance
Male
Mental stimulation
Neurons
Neurons and Cognition
neurophysiology
Neurosciences
Oscillation
Oscillations
Perception
Phase angle
Psychophysics
Sampling
Social Sciences
Staircases
theta rhythms
Visual Perception
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Summary:An important effect of sustained attention is the facilitation of perception. Although the term "sustained" suggests that this beneficial effect endures continuously as long as something is attended, we present electrophysiological evidence that perception at attended locations is actually modulated periodically. Subjects detected brief light flashes that were presented peripherally at locations that were either attended or unattended. We analyzed the correlation between detection performance for attended and unattended stimuli and the phase of ongoing EEG oscillations, which relate to subsecond fluctuations of neuronal excitability. Although on average, detection performance was improved by attention—indicated by reduced detection thresholds at attended locations—we found that detection performance for attended stimuli actually fluctuated over time along with the phase of spontaneous oscillations in the θ (≈ 7 Hz) frequency band just before stimulus onset. This fluctuation was absent for unattended stimuli. This pattern of results suggests that "sustained" attention in fact exerts its facilitative effect on perception in a periodic fashion.
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PMCID: PMC2941320
Edited by Dale Purves, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, and approved August 10, 2010 (received for review April 9, 2010)
Author contributions: N.A.B. and R.V. designed research; N.A.B. performed research; N.A.B. analyzed data; and N.A.B. and R.V. wrote the paper.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1004801107