Beta oscillations in vision: a (preconscious) neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream?
Neural oscillations in alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) frequency bands are thought to reflect feedback/reentrant loops and large-scale cortical interactions. In the last decades a main effort has been made in linking perception with alpha-band oscillations, with converging evidence showing that...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1296483/full |
| _version_ | 1797393023844220928 |
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| author | Giuseppe Di Dona Giuseppe Di Dona Luca Ronconi Luca Ronconi |
| author_facet | Giuseppe Di Dona Giuseppe Di Dona Luca Ronconi Luca Ronconi |
| author_sort | Giuseppe Di Dona |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Neural oscillations in alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) frequency bands are thought to reflect feedback/reentrant loops and large-scale cortical interactions. In the last decades a main effort has been made in linking perception with alpha-band oscillations, with converging evidence showing that alpha oscillations have a key role in the temporal and featural binding of visual input, configuring the alpha rhythm a key determinant of conscious visual experience. Less attention has been historically dedicated to link beta oscillations and visual processing. Nonetheless, increasing studies report that task conditions that require to segregate/integrate stimuli in space, to disentangle local/global shapes, to spatially reorganize visual inputs, and to achieve motion perception or form-motion integration, rely on the activity of beta oscillations, with a main hub in parietal areas. In the present review, we summarize the evidence linking oscillations within the beta band and visual perception. We propose that beta oscillations represent a neural code that supports the functionality of the magnocellular-dorsal (M-D) visual pathway, serving as a fast primary neural code to exert top-down influences on the slower parvocellular-ventral visual pathway activity. Such M-D-related beta activity is proposed to act mainly pre-consciously, providing the spatial coordinates of vision and guiding the conscious extraction of objects identity that are achieved with slower alpha rhythms in ventral areas. Finally, within this new theoretical framework, we discuss the potential role of M-D-related beta oscillations in visuo-spatial attention, oculo-motor behavior and reading (dis)abilities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:57:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c809b34bc2a14baaab32398350765984 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:57:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c809b34bc2a14baaab323983507659842023-12-13T04:34:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-12-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.12964831296483Beta oscillations in vision: a (preconscious) neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream?Giuseppe Di Dona0Giuseppe Di Dona1Luca Ronconi2Luca Ronconi3Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, ItalySchool of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, ItalyDivision of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, ItalySchool of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, ItalyNeural oscillations in alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) frequency bands are thought to reflect feedback/reentrant loops and large-scale cortical interactions. In the last decades a main effort has been made in linking perception with alpha-band oscillations, with converging evidence showing that alpha oscillations have a key role in the temporal and featural binding of visual input, configuring the alpha rhythm a key determinant of conscious visual experience. Less attention has been historically dedicated to link beta oscillations and visual processing. Nonetheless, increasing studies report that task conditions that require to segregate/integrate stimuli in space, to disentangle local/global shapes, to spatially reorganize visual inputs, and to achieve motion perception or form-motion integration, rely on the activity of beta oscillations, with a main hub in parietal areas. In the present review, we summarize the evidence linking oscillations within the beta band and visual perception. We propose that beta oscillations represent a neural code that supports the functionality of the magnocellular-dorsal (M-D) visual pathway, serving as a fast primary neural code to exert top-down influences on the slower parvocellular-ventral visual pathway activity. Such M-D-related beta activity is proposed to act mainly pre-consciously, providing the spatial coordinates of vision and guiding the conscious extraction of objects identity that are achieved with slower alpha rhythms in ventral areas. Finally, within this new theoretical framework, we discuss the potential role of M-D-related beta oscillations in visuo-spatial attention, oculo-motor behavior and reading (dis)abilities.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1296483/fullvisionbeta oscillationsmagnocellular dorsal streamvisual attentionspatial attentionparietal cortex |
| spellingShingle | Giuseppe Di Dona Giuseppe Di Dona Luca Ronconi Luca Ronconi Beta oscillations in vision: a (preconscious) neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream? Frontiers in Psychology vision beta oscillations magnocellular dorsal stream visual attention spatial attention parietal cortex |
| title | Beta oscillations in vision: a (preconscious) neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream? |
| title_full | Beta oscillations in vision: a (preconscious) neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream? |
| title_fullStr | Beta oscillations in vision: a (preconscious) neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beta oscillations in vision: a (preconscious) neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream? |
| title_short | Beta oscillations in vision: a (preconscious) neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream? |
| title_sort | beta oscillations in vision a preconscious neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream |
| topic | vision beta oscillations magnocellular dorsal stream visual attention spatial attention parietal cortex |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1296483/full |
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