Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany.
NeuroSpin, CEA, DRF/Joliot, INSERM, Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191Gif/Yvette, France.
Eur J Neurosci. 2022 Jun;55(11-12):3256-3265. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15309. Epub 2021 May 31.
Recent advances in attention research have been propelled by the debate on target enhancement versus distractor suppression. A predominant neural correlate of attention is the modulation of alpha oscillatory power (~10 Hz), which signifies shifts of attention in time, space and between sensory modalities. However, the underspecified functional role of alpha oscillations limits the progress of tracking down the neurocognitive basis of attention. In this short opinion article, we review and critically examine a synthesis of three conceptual and methodological aspects that are indispensable for a mechanistic understanding of the role of alpha oscillations for attention. (a) Precise mapping of the anatomical source and the temporal response profile of neural signals reveals distinct alpha oscillatory processes that implement facilitatory versus suppressive components of attention. (b) A testable framework enables unanimous association of alpha modulation with either target enhancement or different forms of distractor suppression (active vs. automatic). (c) Linking anatomically specified alpha oscillations to behavior reveals the causal nature of alpha oscillations for attention. The three reviewed aspects substantially enrich study design, data analysis and interpretation of results to achieve the goal of understanding how anatomically specified and functionally relevant neural oscillations contribute to the implementation of facilitatory versus suppressive components of attention.
近年来，注意力研究的进展得益于关于目标增强与干扰抑制的争论。注意力的一个主要神经相关物是α 振荡功率的调制（~10 Hz），它标志着注意力在时间、空间和感觉模态之间的转移。然而，α 振荡的功能作用不明确限制了追踪注意力的神经认知基础的进展。在这篇简短的观点文章中，我们回顾并批判性地检查了三个概念和方法方面的综合，这对于理解α 振荡对注意力的作用的机制是必不可少的。(a) 精确映射神经信号的解剖源和时间响应特征揭示了实施注意力的促进性和抑制性成分的不同的α 振荡过程。(b) 一个可测试的框架使 α 调制与目标增强或不同形式的干扰抑制（主动与自动）一致地关联。(c) 将解剖学上指定的α 振荡与行为联系起来，揭示了α 振荡对注意力的因果性质。这三个方面大大丰富了研究设计、数据分析和结果解释，以实现理解解剖学上指定和功能相关的神经振荡如何有助于实施注意力的促进性和抑制性成分的目标。
