The many characters of visual alpha oscillations

A central feature of human brain activity is the alpha rhythm: a 7–13 Hz oscillation observed most notably over occipitoparietal brain regions during periods of eyes‐closed rest. Alpha oscillations covary with changes in visual processing and have been associated with a broad range of neurocognitive...

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Published in:The European journal of neuroscience Vol. 48; no. 7; pp. 2498 - 2508
Main Authors: Clayton, Michael S., Yeung, Nick, Cohen Kadosh, Roi
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: France Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2018
Subjects:
alpha oscillations
Alpha Rhythm - physiology
Animals
Attention
Attention - physiology
Brain
Brain - physiology
Cognition
Cognitive ability
Electroencephalography - methods
Humans
Information processing
long‐range communication
Oscillations
stabilisation
Temporal cortex
top‐down control
Visual cortex
Visual Cortex - physiology
Visual perception
Visual Perception - physiology
visual perception
long-range communication
top-down control
alpha oscillations
stabilisation
ISSN:0953-816X, 1460-9568, 1460-9568
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:A central feature of human brain activity is the alpha rhythm: a 7–13 Hz oscillation observed most notably over occipitoparietal brain regions during periods of eyes‐closed rest. Alpha oscillations covary with changes in visual processing and have been associated with a broad range of neurocognitive functions. In this article, we review these associations and suggest that alpha oscillations can be thought to exhibit at least five distinct ‘characters’: those of the inhibitor, perceiver, predictor, communicator and stabiliser. In short, while alpha oscillations are strongly associated with reductions in visual attention, they also appear to play important roles in regulating the timing and temporal resolution of perception. Furthermore, alpha oscillations are strongly associated with top‐down control and may facilitate transmission of predictions to visual cortex. This is in addition to promoting communication between frontal and posterior brain regions more generally, as well as maintaining ongoing perceptual states. We discuss why alpha oscillations might associate with such a broad range of cognitive functions and suggest ways in which these diverse associations can be studied experimentally. Alpha oscillations in posterior cortex are one of the most dominant rhythms of the human brain. Although classically associated with reductions in visual processing, recent evidence has suggested that these oscillations contribute to a diverse range of cognitive functions. In this article, we review this evidence and suggest that visual alpha oscillations exhibit at least five distinct ‘characters’: those of the inhibitor, perceiver, predictor, communicator and stabiliser.
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ISSN:0953-816X
1460-9568
1460-9568
DOI:10.1111/ejn.13747