On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation: correlation or causation?

On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation: correlation or causation?. Romei, V., Gross, J., & Thut, G. The Journal of neuroscience: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 30(25):8692--8697, June, 2010. PMID: 20573914
doi abstract bibtex

The posterior alpha rhythm (8-14 Hz), originating in occipito-parietal areas through thalamocortical generation, displays characteristics of visual activity in anticipation of visual events. Posterior alpha power is influenced by visual spatial attention via top-down control from higher order attention areas such as the frontal eye field. It covaries with visual cortex excitability, as tested through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and predicts the perceptual fate of a forthcoming visual stimulus. Yet, it is still unknown whether the nature of the relationship between this prestimulus alpha oscillation and upcoming perception is causal or only correlative. Here, we tested in the human brain whether the oscillation in the alpha band is causally shaping perception through directly stimulating visual areas via short trains of rhythmic TMS. We compared stimulation at alpha frequency (10 Hz) with two control frequencies in the theta (5 Hz) and beta bands (20 Hz), and assessed immediate perceptual outcomes. Target visibility was significantly modulated by alpha stimulation, relative to both control conditions. Alpha stimulation selectively impaired visual detection in the visual field opposite to the stimulated hemisphere, while enhancing detection ipsilaterally. These frequency-specific effects were observed both for stimulation over occipital and parietal areas of the left and right hemispheres and were short lived: they were observed by the end of the TMS train but were absent 3 s later. This shows that the posterior alpha rhythm is actively involved in shaping forthcoming perception and, hence, constitutes a substrate rather than a mere correlate of visual input regulation.

@article{ romei_role_2010,
  title = {On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation: correlation or causation?},
  volume = {30},
  issn = {1529-2401},
  shorttitle = {On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation},
  doi = {10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0160-10.2010},
  abstract = {The posterior alpha rhythm (8-14 Hz), originating in occipito-parietal areas through thalamocortical generation, displays characteristics of visual activity in anticipation of visual events. Posterior alpha power is influenced by visual spatial attention via top-down control from higher order attention areas such as the frontal eye field. It covaries with visual cortex excitability, as tested through transcranial magnetic stimulation ({TMS)}, and predicts the perceptual fate of a forthcoming visual stimulus. Yet, it is still unknown whether the nature of the relationship between this prestimulus alpha oscillation and upcoming perception is causal or only correlative. Here, we tested in the human brain whether the oscillation in the alpha band is causally shaping perception through directly stimulating visual areas via short trains of rhythmic {TMS.} We compared stimulation at alpha frequency (10 Hz) with two control frequencies in the theta (5 Hz) and beta bands (20 Hz), and assessed immediate perceptual outcomes. Target visibility was significantly modulated by alpha stimulation, relative to both control conditions. Alpha stimulation selectively impaired visual detection in the visual field opposite to the stimulated hemisphere, while enhancing detection ipsilaterally. These frequency-specific effects were observed both for stimulation over occipital and parietal areas of the left and right hemispheres and were short lived: they were observed by the end of the {TMS} train but were absent 3 s later. This shows that the posterior alpha rhythm is actively involved in shaping forthcoming perception and, hence, constitutes a substrate rather than a mere correlate of visual input regulation.},
  number = {25},
  journal = {The Journal of neuroscience: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience},
  author = {Romei, Vincenzo and Gross, Joachim and Thut, Gregor},
  month = {June},
  year = {2010},
  note = {{PMID:} 20573914},
  keywords = {Adult, Alpha Rhythm, Analysis of Variance, Attention, Brain Mapping, Female, Functional Laterality, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Male, Occipital Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Photic Stimulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Visual Pathways, Visual Perception},
  pages = {8692--8697}
}

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{"_id":{"_str":"527b54db5e011a4c4b000895"},"__v":0,"authorIDs":[],"author_short":["Romei, V.","Gross, J.","Thut, G."],"bibbaseid":"romei-gross-thut-ontheroleofprestimulusalpharhythmsoveroccipitoparietalareasinvisualinputregulationcorrelationorcausation-2010","bibdata":{"html":"<div class=\"bibbase_paper\"> \n\n\n<span class=\"bibbase_paper_titleauthoryear\">\n\t<span class=\"bibbase_paper_title\"><a name=\"romei_role_2010\"> </a>On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation: correlation or causation?.</span>\n\t<span class=\"bibbase_paper_author\">\nRomei, V.; Gross, J.; and Thut, G.</span>\n\t\n</span>\n\n\n\n<i>The Journal of neuroscience: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience</i>,\n\n30(25):8692--8697.\n\nJune 2010.\n\n\nPMID: 20573914.\n\n<br class=\"bibbase_paper_content\"/>\n\n<span class=\"bibbase_paper_content\">\n \n \n \n <a href=\"javascript:showBib('romei_role_2010')\"\n class=\"bibbase link\">\n \n\t\n\t\n\t\n BibTeX\n <i class=\"fa fa-caret-down\"></i></a>\n \n \n  \n <a class=\"bibbase_abstract_link bibbase link\"\n href=\"javascript:showAbstract('romei_role_2010')\">\n Abstract\n <i class=\"fa fa-caret-down\"></i></a>\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n</span>\n\n<div class=\"well well-small bibbase\" id=\"bib_romei_role_2010\"\n style=\"display:none\">\n <pre>@article{ romei_role_2010,\n title = {On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation: correlation or causation?},\n volume = {30},\n issn = {1529-2401},\n shorttitle = {On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation},\n doi = {10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0160-10.2010},\n abstract = {The posterior alpha rhythm (8-14 Hz), originating in occipito-parietal areas through thalamocortical generation, displays characteristics of visual activity in anticipation of visual events. Posterior alpha power is influenced by visual spatial attention via top-down control from higher order attention areas such as the frontal eye field. It covaries with visual cortex excitability, as tested through transcranial magnetic stimulation ({TMS)}, and predicts the perceptual fate of a forthcoming visual stimulus. Yet, it is still unknown whether the nature of the relationship between this prestimulus alpha oscillation and upcoming perception is causal or only correlative. Here, we tested in the human brain whether the oscillation in the alpha band is causally shaping perception through directly stimulating visual areas via short trains of rhythmic {TMS.} We compared stimulation at alpha frequency (10 Hz) with two control frequencies in the theta (5 Hz) and beta bands (20 Hz), and assessed immediate perceptual outcomes. Target visibility was significantly modulated by alpha stimulation, relative to both control conditions. Alpha stimulation selectively impaired visual detection in the visual field opposite to the stimulated hemisphere, while enhancing detection ipsilaterally. These frequency-specific effects were observed both for stimulation over occipital and parietal areas of the left and right hemispheres and were short lived: they were observed by the end of the {TMS} train but were absent 3 s later. This shows that the posterior alpha rhythm is actively involved in shaping forthcoming perception and, hence, constitutes a substrate rather than a mere correlate of visual input regulation.},\n number = {25},\n journal = {The Journal of neuroscience: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience},\n author = {Romei, Vincenzo and Gross, Joachim and Thut, Gregor},\n month = {June},\n year = {2010},\n note = {{PMID:} 20573914},\n keywords = {Adult, Alpha Rhythm, Analysis of Variance, Attention, Brain Mapping, Female, Functional Laterality, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Male, Occipital Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Photic Stimulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Visual Pathways, Visual Perception},\n pages = {8692--8697}\n}</pre>\n</div>\n\n\n<div class=\"well well-small bibbase\" id=\"abstract_romei_role_2010\"\n style=\"display:none\">\n The posterior alpha rhythm (8-14 Hz), originating in occipito-parietal areas through thalamocortical generation, displays characteristics of visual activity in anticipation of visual events. Posterior alpha power is influenced by visual spatial attention via top-down control from higher order attention areas such as the frontal eye field. It covaries with visual cortex excitability, as tested through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and predicts the perceptual fate of a forthcoming visual stimulus. Yet, it is still unknown whether the nature of the relationship between this prestimulus alpha oscillation and upcoming perception is causal or only correlative. Here, we tested in the human brain whether the oscillation in the alpha band is causally shaping perception through directly stimulating visual areas via short trains of rhythmic TMS. We compared stimulation at alpha frequency (10 Hz) with two control frequencies in the theta (5 Hz) and beta bands (20 Hz), and assessed immediate perceptual outcomes. Target visibility was significantly modulated by alpha stimulation, relative to both control conditions. Alpha stimulation selectively impaired visual detection in the visual field opposite to the stimulated hemisphere, while enhancing detection ipsilaterally. These frequency-specific effects were observed both for stimulation over occipital and parietal areas of the left and right hemispheres and were short lived: they were observed by the end of the TMS train but were absent 3 s later. This shows that the posterior alpha rhythm is actively involved in shaping forthcoming perception and, hence, constitutes a substrate rather than a mere correlate of visual input regulation.\n</div>\n\n\n</div>\n","downloads":0,"bibbaseid":"romei-gross-thut-ontheroleofprestimulusalpharhythmsoveroccipitoparietalareasinvisualinputregulationcorrelationorcausation-2010","role":"author","year":"2010","volume":"30","type":"article","title":"On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation: correlation or causation?","shorttitle":"On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation","pages":"8692--8697","number":"25","note":"PMID: 20573914","month":"June","keywords":"Adult, Alpha Rhythm, Analysis of Variance, Attention, Brain Mapping, Female, Functional Laterality, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Male, Occipital Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Photic Stimulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Visual Pathways, Visual Perception","key":"romei_role_2010","journal":"The Journal of neuroscience: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience","issn":"1529-2401","id":"romei_role_2010","doi":"10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0160-10.2010","bibtype":"article","bibtex":"@article{ romei_role_2010,\n title = {On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation: correlation or causation?},\n volume = {30},\n issn = {1529-2401},\n shorttitle = {On the role of prestimulus alpha rhythms over occipito-parietal areas in visual input regulation},\n doi = {10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0160-10.2010},\n abstract = {The posterior alpha rhythm (8-14 Hz), originating in occipito-parietal areas through thalamocortical generation, displays characteristics of visual activity in anticipation of visual events. Posterior alpha power is influenced by visual spatial attention via top-down control from higher order attention areas such as the frontal eye field. It covaries with visual cortex excitability, as tested through transcranial magnetic stimulation ({TMS)}, and predicts the perceptual fate of a forthcoming visual stimulus. Yet, it is still unknown whether the nature of the relationship between this prestimulus alpha oscillation and upcoming perception is causal or only correlative. Here, we tested in the human brain whether the oscillation in the alpha band is causally shaping perception through directly stimulating visual areas via short trains of rhythmic {TMS.} We compared stimulation at alpha frequency (10 Hz) with two control frequencies in the theta (5 Hz) and beta bands (20 Hz), and assessed immediate perceptual outcomes. Target visibility was significantly modulated by alpha stimulation, relative to both control conditions. Alpha stimulation selectively impaired visual detection in the visual field opposite to the stimulated hemisphere, while enhancing detection ipsilaterally. These frequency-specific effects were observed both for stimulation over occipital and parietal areas of the left and right hemispheres and were short lived: they were observed by the end of the {TMS} train but were absent 3 s later. This shows that the posterior alpha rhythm is actively involved in shaping forthcoming perception and, hence, constitutes a substrate rather than a mere correlate of visual input regulation.},\n number = {25},\n journal = {The Journal of neuroscience: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience},\n author = {Romei, Vincenzo and Gross, Joachim and Thut, Gregor},\n month = {June},\n year = {2010},\n note = {{PMID:} 20573914},\n keywords = {Adult, Alpha Rhythm, Analysis of Variance, Attention, Brain Mapping, Female, Functional Laterality, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Male, Occipital Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Photic Stimulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Visual Pathways, Visual Perception},\n pages = {8692--8697}\n}","author_short":["Romei, V.","Gross, J.","Thut, G."],"author":["Romei, Vincenzo","Gross, Joachim","Thut, Gregor"],"abstract":"The posterior alpha rhythm (8-14 Hz), originating in occipito-parietal areas through thalamocortical generation, displays characteristics of visual activity in anticipation of visual events. 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Alpha stimulation selectively impaired visual detection in the visual field opposite to the stimulated hemisphere, while enhancing detection ipsilaterally. These frequency-specific effects were observed both for stimulation over occipital and parietal areas of the left and right hemispheres and were short lived: they were observed by the end of the TMS train but were absent 3 s later. 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