scholarly journals Alpha oscillations link action to cognition: An oculomotor account of the brain's dominant rhythm

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tzvetan Popov ◽  
Gregory A. Miller ◽  
Brigitte Rockstroh ◽  
Ole Jensen ◽  
Nicolas Langer
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Oculomotor Control ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Foveal Vision ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Alpha Oscillations ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Human Primate

Power modulations in alpha oscillations (8-14Hz) have been associated with most human cognitive functions and psychopathological conditions studied. These reports are often inconsistent with the prevailing view of a specific relationship of alpha oscillations to attention and working memory (WM). We propose that conceptualizing the role of alpha oscillations in oculomotor control resolves this inconsistency. This proposition is based on a review of results across species (human Npooled=295, one non-human primate, honey bee N=5), experimental conditions (rest, attention, and working memory), and recording techniques (EEG, ECOG, eye-tracking, and MEG) that encourage the following relationships between alpha oscillations and eye-movement control: (i) saccade initiation prompts power decrease in brain circuits associated with saccadic control; (ii) the direction of a saccade is consistent with alpha lateralization, both during task and resting conditions; (iii) the phase of alpha activity informs saccade occurrence and biases miniature eye movements during fixation (e.g. fixational tremor); and (iv) oculomotor action differentiates WM load. A new theory on how alpha oscillations link oculomotor action to cognition is proposed. Generalizing across tasks and species: low oculomotor activity is associated with high alpha power and vice versa. Alpha oscillations regulate how long to look at a given target and how fast to saccade to a next. By ensuring steady gaze position, any potential input outside foveal vision is 'suppressed'.

scholarly journals The role of alpha oscillations in deriving and maintaining spatial relations in working memory

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 888-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara J. Blacker ◽  
Akiko Ikkai ◽  
Balaji M. Lakshmanan ◽  
Joshua B. Ewen ◽  
Susan M. Courtney
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Spatial Relations ◽  
Alpha Oscillations

Dopamine Increases the Gain of the Input-Output Response of Rat Prefrontal Pyramidal Neurons

2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
pp. 2985-2997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Thurley ◽  
Walter Senn ◽  
Hans-Rudolf Lüscher
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Neuronal Excitability ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
D1 Receptors ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Prefrontal Cortical ◽  
Noisy Input ◽  
Relationship Of

Dopaminergic modulation of prefrontal cortical activity is known to affect cognitive functions like working memory. Little consensus on the role of dopamine modulation has been achieved, however, in part because quantities directly relating to the neuronal substrate of working memory are difficult to measure. Here we show that dopamine increases the gain of the frequency-current relationship of layer 5 pyramidal neurons in vitro in response to noisy input currents. The gain increase could be attributed to a reduction of the slow afterhyperpolarization by dopamine. Dopamine also increases neuronal excitability by shifting the input-output functions to lower inputs. The modulation of these response properties is mainly mediated by D1 receptors. Integrate-and-fire neurons were fitted to the experimentally recorded input-output functions and recurrently connected in a model network. The gain increase induced by dopamine application facilitated and stabilized persistent activity in this network. The results support the hypothesis that catecholamines increase the neuronal gain and suggest that dopamine improves working memory via gain modulation.

scholarly journals Simple Configuration Effects on Eye Movements in Horizontal Scanning Tasks

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilze Laicane ◽  
Jurgis Skilters ◽  
Ivars Lacis
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Perceptual Grouping ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Oculomotor Control ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Reading Text ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
Meaningful Text ◽  
Gaze Fixations

When reading text, observers alternate periods of stable gaze (fixations) and shifts of gaze (saccades). An important debate in the literature concerns the processes that drive the control of these eye movements. Past studies using strings of letters rather than meaningful text ('z-reading') suggest that eye movement control during reading is, to a large extent, controlled by low-level image properties. These studies, however, have failed to take into account perceptual grouping processes that could drive these low-level effects. We here study the role of various grouping factors in horizontal scanning eye movements, and compare these to reading meaningful text. The results show that sequential horizontal scanning of meaningless and visually distinctive stimuli is slower than for meaningful stimuli (e.g. letters instead of dots). Moreover, we found strong evidence for anticipatory processes in saccadic processing during horizontal scanning tasks. These results suggest a strong role of perceptual grouping in oculomotor control in reading.

scholarly journals Working Memory Capacity Is Negatively Associated with Memory Load Modulation of Alpha Oscillations in Retention of Verbal Working Memory

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (12) ◽  
pp. 1933-1945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenhong Hu ◽  
Christopher M. Barkley ◽  
Susan E. Marino ◽  
Chao Wang ◽  
Abhijit Rajan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Alpha Oscillations ◽  
Load Modulation ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
With Memory

Working memory capacity (WMC) measures the amount of information that can be maintained online in the face of distraction. Past work has shown that the efficiency with which the frontostriatal circuit filters out task-irrelevant distracting information is positively correlated with WMC. Recent work has demonstrated a role of posterior alpha oscillations (8–13 Hz) in providing a sensory gating mechanism. We investigated the relationship between memory load modulation of alpha power and WMC in two verbal working memory experiments. In both experiments, we found that posterior alpha power increased with memory load during memory, in agreement with previous reports. Across individuals, the degree of alpha power modulation by memory load was negatively associated with WMC, namely, the higher the WMC, the less alpha power was modulated by memory load. After the administration of topiramate, a drug known to affect alpha oscillations and have a negative impact on working memory function, the negative correlation between memory load modulation of alpha power and WMC was no longer statistically significant but still somewhat detectable. These results suggest that (1) individuals with low WMC demonstrate stronger alpha power modulation by memory load, reflecting possibly an increased reliance on sensory gating to suppress task-irrelevant information in these individuals, in contrast to their high WMC counterparts who rely more on frontal areas to perform this function and (2) this negative association between memory load modulation of alpha oscillations and WMC is vulnerable to drug-related cognitive disruption.

Working Memory Processes Are Mediated by Local and Long-range Synchronization of Alpha Oscillations

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 1343-1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maite Crespo-Garcia ◽  
Diego Pinal ◽  
Jose L. Cantero ◽  
Fernando Díaz ◽  
Montserrat Zurrón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Alpha Phase ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Phase Synchrony ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Alpha Oscillations ◽  
Memory Processes ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Cortical Regions

Different cortical dynamics of alpha oscillations (8–13 Hz) have been associated with increased working memory load, which have been mostly interpreted as a neural correlate of functional inhibition. This study aims at determining whether different manifestations of load-dependent amplitude and phase dynamics in the alpha band can coexist over different cortical regions. To address this question, we increased information load by manipulating the number and spatial configuration of domino spots. Time–frequency analysis of EEG source activity revealed (i) load-independent increases of both alpha power and interregional alpha-phase synchrony within task-irrelevant, posterior cortical regions and (ii) load-dependent decreases of alpha power over areas of the left pFC and bilateral posterior parietal cortex (PPC) preceded in time by load-dependent decreases of alpha-phase synchrony between the left pFC and the left PPC. The former results support the role of alpha oscillations in inhibiting irrelevant sensorimotor processing, whereas the latter likely reflect release of parietal task-relevant areas from top–down inhibition with load increase. This interpretation found further support in a significant latency shift of 15 msec from pFC to the PPC. Together, these results suggest that amplitude and phase alpha dynamics in both local and long-range cortical networks reflect different neural mechanisms of top–down control that might be crucial in mediating the different working memory processes.

scholarly journals Human parietal cortex lesions impact the precision of spatial working memory

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 1049-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne E. Mackey ◽  
Orrin Devinsky ◽  
Werner K. Doyle ◽  
John G. Golfinos ◽  
Clayton E. Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Great Sensitivity ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Visually Guided ◽  
Visuomotor Processing ◽  
Relationship Of

The neural mechanisms that support working memory (WM) depend on persistent neural activity. Within topographically organized maps of space in dorsal parietal cortex, spatially selective neural activity persists during WM for location. However, to date, the necessity of these topographic subregions of human parietal cortex for WM remains unknown. To test the causal relationship of these areas to WM, we compared the performance of patients with lesions to topographically organized parietal cortex with those of controls on a memory-guided saccade (MGS) task as well as a visually guided saccade (VGS) task. The MGS task allowed us to measure WM precision continuously with great sensitivity, whereas the VGS task allowed us to control for any deficits in general spatial or visuomotor processing. Compared with controls, patients generated memory-guided saccades that were significantly slower and less accurate, whereas visually guided saccades were unaffected. These results provide key missing evidence for the causal role of topographic areas in human parietal cortex for WM, as well as the neural mechanisms supporting WM.

scholarly journals Motor learning by selection in visual working memory

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilja Wagner ◽  
Christian Wolf ◽  
Alexander C. Schütz
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Temporal Window ◽  
Optimal Movement ◽  
Saccade Adaptation

AbstractMotor adaptation maintains movement accuracy over the lifetime. Saccadic eye movements have been used successfully to study the mechanisms and neural basis of adaptation. Using behaviorally irrelevant targets, it has been shown that saccade adaptation is driven by errors only in a brief temporal interval after movement completion. However, under natural conditions, eye movements are used to extract information from behaviorally relevant objects and to guide actions manipulating these objects. In this case, the action outcome often becomes apparent only long after movement completion, outside the supposed temporal window of error evaluation. Here, we show that saccade adaptation can be driven by error signals long after the movement when using behaviorally relevant targets. Adaptation occurred when a task-relevant target appeared two seconds after the saccade, or when a retro-cue indicated which of two targets, stored in visual working memory, was task-relevant. Our results emphasize the important role of visual working memory for optimal movement control.

scholarly journals Alpha activity in the ventral and dorsal visual stream controls information flow during working memory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Leszczynski ◽  
Juergen Fell ◽  
Ole Jensen ◽  
Nikolai Axmacher
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Selective Reduction ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Alpha Phase ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Visual Stream ◽  
Face Identity ◽  
Duty Cycles ◽  
Dorsal Visual Stream

AbstractThe electrophysiological mechanisms underlying working memory maintenance of information in the ventral and dorsal visual stream (VVS, DVS) remain elusive. Here we used electrocorticography recordings covering VVS, DVS and prefrontal cortex (PFC) in epilepsy patients while they were performing a delayed match-to-sample task. The experimental conditions (face identity, orientation) were designed to engage either the VVS or DVS. Alpha power was reduced in the VVS during maintenance of face identity and in the DVS during maintenance of spatial orientation of the very same stimuli. The phase of alpha oscillations modulated broadband high-frequency activity (BHA) in both regions. Interestingly, BHA occurred across broader alpha phase ranges when task-relevant information was maintained, putatively reflecting longer excitable “duty cycles”. Our findings support a model in which the VVS and DVS are recruited by the PFC via selective reduction of alpha power. As a result, excitable duty cycles in the relevant area are extended.

scholarly journals Decomposing the role of alpha oscillations during brain maturation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Tröndle ◽  
Tzvetan Popov ◽  
Nicolas Langer
Keyword(s):  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Brain Maturation ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Eeg Signal ◽  
Alpha Oscillations ◽  
Signal Component ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies ◽  
Aperiodic Signal ◽  
Alpha Peak

AbstractDuring childhood and adolescence, the human brain undergoes various micro- and macroscopic changes. Understanding the neurophysiological changes within this reorganizational process is crucial, as many major psychiatric disorders emerge during this critical phase of life. In electroencephalography (EEG), a widely studied signal component are alpha oscillations (~8-13 Hz), which have been linked to developmental changes throughout the lifespan. Previous neurophysiological studies have demonstrated an increase of the alpha peak frequency and a decrease of alpha power to be related to brain maturation. The latter results have been questioned by recent developments in EEG signal processing techniques, as it could be demonstrated that aperiodic (non-oscillatory) components in the EEG signal conflate findings on periodic (oscillatory) changes, and thus need to be decomposed accordingly. We therefore analyzed a large, openly available pediatric dataset of 1485 children and adolescents in the age range of 5 to 21 years, in order to clarify the role of alpha oscillations and aperiodic signal components in this period of life. We first replicated previous findings of an increase of alpha peak frequency with age. Our results further suggest that alpha oscillatory power decreases with increasing age, however, when controlling for the aperiodic signal component, this effect inverted such as the aperiodic adjusted alpha power parameters significantly increase with advanced brain maturation, while the aperiodic signal component flattens and its offset decreases. Thus, interpretations of these oscillatory changes should be done with caution and incorporate changes in the aperiodic signal. These findings highlight the importance of taking aperiodic signal components into account when investigating age related changes of EEG spectral power parameters.

scholarly journals The role of alpha power in the suppression of anticipated distractors during verbal working memory

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Sghirripa ◽  
Lynton Graetz ◽  
Ashley Merkin ◽  
Nigel C Rogasch ◽  
Michael C Ridding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Alpha Frequency ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Sternberg Task

AbstractAs working memory (WM) is limited in capacity, it is important to direct neural resources towards processing task-relevant information while ignoring distractors. Neural oscillations in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz) have been suggested to play a role in the inhibition of task-irrelevant information during WM, although results are mixed, possibly due to differences in the type of WM task employed. Here, we examined the role of alpha power in inhibition of anticipated distractors of varying strength using a modified Sternberg task where the encoding and retention periods were temporally separated. We recorded EEG while 20 young adults completed the task and found: 1) slower reaction times in strong distractor trials compared to weak distractor trials; 2) increased alpha power in posterior regions from baseline prior to presentation of a distractor regardless of condition; and 3) no differences in alpha power between strong and weak distractor conditions. Our results suggest that parieto-occipital alpha power is increased prior to a distractor. However we could not find evidence that alpha power is further modulated by distractor strength.

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