Multi-spectral oscillatory dynamics serving directed and divided attention

Abstract

Attention-related amplification of neural representations of external stimuli has been well documented in the visual domain, however, research concerning the oscillatory dynamics of such directed attention is relatively sparse in humans. Specifically, it is unknown which spectrally-specific neural responses are mainly impacted by the direction and division of attention, as well as whether the effects of attention on these oscillations are spatially disparate. In this study, we use magnetoencephalography and a visual-somatosensory oddball task to investigate the whole-brain oscillatory dynamics of directed ( Experiment 1 ; N = 26) and divided ( Experiment 2 ; N = 34) visual attention. Sensor-level data were transformed into the time-frequency domain and significant responses from baseline were imaged using a frequency-resolved beamformer. We found that multi-spectral cortical oscillations were stronger when attention was sustained in the visual space and that these effects exhibited informative spatial distributions that differed by frequency. More specifically, we found stronger frontal theta (4–8 Hz), frontal and occipital alpha (8–14 Hz), occipital beta (16–22 Hz), and frontal gamma (74–84 Hz) responses when visual attention was sustained than when it was directed away from the visual domain. Similarly, in the divided attention condition, we observed stronger fronto-parietal theta activity and temporo-parietal alpha and beta oscillations when visual attention was sustained toward the visual stimuli than divided between the visual and somatosensory domains. Investigating how attentional gain is implemented in the human brain is essential for better understanding how this process is degraded in disease, and may provide useful targets for future therapies.

Frontal EEG-Based Multi-Level Attention States Recognition Using Dynamical Complexity and Extreme Gradient Boosting

“…Our results showed that dynamical complexity measures were related to the changing process of response, e.g., dynamical complexity measure MFEI (r = −0.35, p < 0.001) were significantly correlated to the task performance during sustained attention task. Previous studies also demonstrated that attention dynamically modulates brain rhythms (Liu et al, 2020;McCusker et al, 2020;Pagnotta et al, 2020). McCusker et al (2020) observed multi-spectral oscillatory robust effected by attention dynamically for both the directed and divided attention experiments in a MEG study.…”

“…Previous studies also demonstrated that attention dynamically modulates brain rhythms (Liu et al, 2020;McCusker et al, 2020;Pagnotta et al, 2020). McCusker et al (2020) observed multi-spectral oscillatory robust effected by attention dynamically for both the directed and divided attention experiments in a MEG study. Liu et al (2020) applied an complex analysis framework composed of weighted phase lag index and tensor component analysis and they found dynamic organizations of frequency-specific function connectivity can track the decrement and motivation of attention in sustained task.…”

Gamma Oscillations Index Sustained Attention in a Brief Vigilance Task

“…Posterior γ exhibits sensitivity to perceptual and memory processes, particularly for the recall of previously encoded stimuli called "memory-matching" (Herrmann et al, 2010). These perceptual-memory functions are gated by top-down attention (Herrmann et al, 2010;Kahlbrock et al, 2011;McCusker et al, 2020). Finally, γ oscillations are implicated in performance outcomes where more robust (larger, longer) amplitudes predict faster response times (RT) and accuracy compared to slower or less accurate responses both within and across individuals (Herrmann et al, 2010;Kim et al, 2017).…”

The Effect of Media Professionalization on Cognitive Neurodynamics During Audiovisual Cuts

“…Since we did not ask participants if they were aware or not of cuts, this connection should be further studied. While the role of beta oscillations in visual processing and attention is less clear (McCusker et al, 2020 ) further studies could approach if beta band in media professionals could be linked with the attention to visual stimuli (Michalareas et al, 2016 ). Since it has been hypothesized that beta oscillations may be stronger if the maintenance of the status quo is predicted than if a change is expected (Engel and Fries, 2010 ), it would be interesting learning about expectance to change while watching audiovisual works by the group of media professionals.…”