The phase of pre-stimulus alpha oscillations influences the visual perception of stimulus timing
The phase of pre-stimulus alpha oscillations influences the visual perception of stimulus timing
This study examined the influence of pre-stimulus alpha phase and attention on whether two visual stimuli occurring closely in time were perceived as simultaneous or asynchronous. The results demonstrated that certain phases of alpha in the period immediately preceding stimulus onset were associated with a higher proportion of stimuli judged to be asynchronous. Furthermore, this effect was shown to occur independently of both visuo-spatial attention and alpha amplitude. The findings are compatible with proposals that alpha phase reflects cyclic shifts in neuronal excitability. Importantly, however, the results further suggest that fluctuations in neuronal excitability can create a periodicity in neuronal transfer that can have functional consequences that are decoupled from changes in alpha amplitude. This study therefore provides evidence that perceptual processes fluctuate periodically although it remains uncertain whether this implies the discrete temporal framing of perception.
53-61
Milton, Alex
0f19539b-e9ec-4f41-a2e5-a4af9a3d05c4
Pleydell-Pearce, Christopher W.
59c1f691-dc4f-49aa-976a-1c1ed6cea255
June 2016
Milton, Alex
0f19539b-e9ec-4f41-a2e5-a4af9a3d05c4
Pleydell-Pearce, Christopher W.
59c1f691-dc4f-49aa-976a-1c1ed6cea255
Milton, Alex and Pleydell-Pearce, Christopher W.
(2016)
The phase of pre-stimulus alpha oscillations influences the visual perception of stimulus timing.
NeuroImage, 133, .
(doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.065).
Abstract
This study examined the influence of pre-stimulus alpha phase and attention on whether two visual stimuli occurring closely in time were perceived as simultaneous or asynchronous. The results demonstrated that certain phases of alpha in the period immediately preceding stimulus onset were associated with a higher proportion of stimuli judged to be asynchronous. Furthermore, this effect was shown to occur independently of both visuo-spatial attention and alpha amplitude. The findings are compatible with proposals that alpha phase reflects cyclic shifts in neuronal excitability. Importantly, however, the results further suggest that fluctuations in neuronal excitability can create a periodicity in neuronal transfer that can have functional consequences that are decoupled from changes in alpha amplitude. This study therefore provides evidence that perceptual processes fluctuate periodically although it remains uncertain whether this implies the discrete temporal framing of perception.
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Accepted/In Press date: 21 February 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 27 February 2016
Published date: June 2016
Organisations:
Human Wellbeing
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Local EPrints ID: 410585
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/410585
PURE UUID: 2f8c5e84-6ac6-432b-a01e-823ac609c650
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Date deposited: 09 Jun 2017 09:11
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 13:53
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Author:
Alex Milton
Author:
Christopher W. Pleydell-Pearce
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