Foster Joshua J, Sutterer David W, Serences John T, Vogel Edward K, Awh Edward
1 Department of Psychology, University of Chicago.
2 Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago.
Psychol Sci. 2017 Jul;28(7):929-941. doi: 10.1177/0956797617699167. Epub 2017 May 24.
Covert spatial attention is essential for humans' ability to direct limited processing resources to the relevant aspects of visual scenes. A growing body of evidence suggests that rhythmic neural activity in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz) tracks the spatial locus of covert attention, which suggests that alpha activity is integral to spatial attention. However, extant work has not provided a compelling test of another key prediction: that alpha activity tracks the temporal dynamics of covert spatial orienting. In the current study, we examined the time course of spatially specific alpha activity after central cues and during visual search. Critically, the time course of this activity tracked trial-by-trial variations in orienting latency during visual search. These findings provide important new evidence for the link between rhythmic brain activity and covert spatial attention, and they highlight a powerful approach for tracking the spatial and temporal dynamics of this core cognitive process.
隐蔽空间注意对于人类将有限的加工资源导向视觉场景相关方面的能力至关重要。越来越多的证据表明，阿尔法频段（8 - 12赫兹）的节律性神经活动追踪着隐蔽注意的空间位置，这表明阿尔法活动是空间注意不可或缺的一部分。然而，现有研究尚未对另一个关键预测进行令人信服的检验：即阿尔法活动追踪隐蔽空间定向的时间动态。在当前研究中，我们考察了中央线索呈现后以及视觉搜索过程中空间特异性阿尔法活动的时间进程。至关重要的是，这种活动的时间进程追踪了视觉搜索过程中每次试验的定向潜伏期变化。这些发现为节律性脑活动与隐蔽空间注意之间的联系提供了重要的新证据，并且突出了一种用于追踪这一核心认知过程的空间和时间动态的有力方法。
