Dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processes
EEG alpha power varies under many circumstances requiring visual attention. However, mounting evidence indicates that alpha may not only serve visual processing, but also the processing of stimuli presented in other sensory modalities, including hearing. We previously showed that alpha dynamics duri...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-04-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811923001027 |
| _version_ | 1827989361318166528 |
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| author | Grace M. Clements Mate Gyurkovics Kathy A. Low Arthur F. Kramer Diane M. Beck Monica Fabiani Gabriele Gratton |
| author_facet | Grace M. Clements Mate Gyurkovics Kathy A. Low Arthur F. Kramer Diane M. Beck Monica Fabiani Gabriele Gratton |
| author_sort | Grace M. Clements |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | EEG alpha power varies under many circumstances requiring visual attention. However, mounting evidence indicates that alpha may not only serve visual processing, but also the processing of stimuli presented in other sensory modalities, including hearing. We previously showed that alpha dynamics during an auditory task vary as a function of competition from the visual modality (Clements et al., 2022) suggesting that alpha may be engaged in multimodal processing. Here we assessed the impact of allocating attention to the visual or auditory modality on alpha dynamics at parietal and occipital electrodes, during the preparatory period of a cued-conflict task. In this task, bimodal precues indicated the modality (vision, hearing) relevant to a subsequent reaction stimulus, allowing us to assess alpha during modality-specific preparation and while switching between modalities. Alpha suppression following the precue occurred in all conditions, indicating that it may reflect general preparatory mechanisms. However, we observed a switch effect when preparing to attend to the auditory modality, in which greater alpha suppression was elicited when switching to the auditory modality compared to repeating. No switch effect was evident when preparing to attend to visual information (although robust suppression did occur in both conditions). In addition, waning alpha suppression preceded error trials, irrespective of sensory modality. These findings indicate that alpha can be used to monitor the level of preparatory attention to process both visual and auditory information, and support the emerging view that alpha band activity may index a general attention control mechanism used across modalities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:18:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bcede8b3bc804386b0568f9433f072e5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1095-9572 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:18:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage |
| spelling | doaj.art-bcede8b3bc804386b0568f9433f072e52023-03-16T05:03:05ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722023-04-01270119956Dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processesGrace M. Clements0Mate Gyurkovics1Kathy A. Low2Arthur F. Kramer3Diane M. Beck4Monica Fabiani5Gabriele Gratton6Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Corresponding authors at: Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA.Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, ScotlandBeckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USABeckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Center for Cognitive & Brain Health, Northeastern University, USAPsychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USAPsychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USAPsychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA; Corresponding authors at: Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, USA.EEG alpha power varies under many circumstances requiring visual attention. However, mounting evidence indicates that alpha may not only serve visual processing, but also the processing of stimuli presented in other sensory modalities, including hearing. We previously showed that alpha dynamics during an auditory task vary as a function of competition from the visual modality (Clements et al., 2022) suggesting that alpha may be engaged in multimodal processing. Here we assessed the impact of allocating attention to the visual or auditory modality on alpha dynamics at parietal and occipital electrodes, during the preparatory period of a cued-conflict task. In this task, bimodal precues indicated the modality (vision, hearing) relevant to a subsequent reaction stimulus, allowing us to assess alpha during modality-specific preparation and while switching between modalities. Alpha suppression following the precue occurred in all conditions, indicating that it may reflect general preparatory mechanisms. However, we observed a switch effect when preparing to attend to the auditory modality, in which greater alpha suppression was elicited when switching to the auditory modality compared to repeating. No switch effect was evident when preparing to attend to visual information (although robust suppression did occur in both conditions). In addition, waning alpha suppression preceded error trials, irrespective of sensory modality. These findings indicate that alpha can be used to monitor the level of preparatory attention to process both visual and auditory information, and support the emerging view that alpha band activity may index a general attention control mechanism used across modalities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811923001027EEG alpha powerAlpha suppressionAttention controlVisual selective attentionAuditory selective attentionPreparatory control |
| spellingShingle | Grace M. Clements Mate Gyurkovics Kathy A. Low Arthur F. Kramer Diane M. Beck Monica Fabiani Gabriele Gratton Dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processes NeuroImage EEG alpha power Alpha suppression Attention control Visual selective attention Auditory selective attention Preparatory control |
| title | Dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processes |
| title_full | Dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processes |
| title_fullStr | Dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processes |
| title_short | Dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processes |
| title_sort | dynamics of alpha suppression index both modality specific and general attention processes |
| topic | EEG alpha power Alpha suppression Attention control Visual selective attention Auditory selective attention Preparatory control |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811923001027 |
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