Dynamic alpha power modulations and slow negative potentials track natural shifts of spatio-temporal attention

Alpha power modulations and slow negative potentials have previously been associated with anticipatory processes in spatial and temporal top-down attention. In typical experimental designs, however, neural responses triggered by transient stimulus onsets can interfere with attention-driven activity patterns and our interpretation of such. Here, we investigated these signatures of spatio-temporal attention in a dynamic paradigm free from potentially confounding stimulus-driven activity using electroencephalography. Participants attended the cued side of a bilateral stimulus rotation and mentally counted how often one of two remembered sample orientations (i.e., the target) was displayed while ignoring the uncued side and non-target orientation. Afterwards, participants performed a delayed match-to-sample task, in which they indicated if the orientation of a probe stimulus matched the corresponding sample orientation (previously target or non-target). We observed dynamic alpha power reductions and slow negative waves around task-relevant points in space and time (i.e., onset of the target orientation in the cued hemifield) over posterior electrodes contralateral to the locus of attention. In contrast to static alpha power lateralization, these dynamic signatures correlated with subsequent memory performance (primarily detriments for matching probes of the non-target orientation), suggesting a preferential allocation of attention to task-relevant locations and time points at the expense of reduced resources and impaired performance for information outside the current focus of attention. Our findings suggest that humans can naturally and dynamically focus their attention at relevant points in space and time and that such spatio-temporal attention shifts can be reflected by dynamic alpha power modulations and slow negative potentials. Psychophysiological processes like spatio-temporal top-down attention and its underlying neural signatures rarely operate in isolation and can thus be easily confounded by secondary processes like stimulus-triggered neural activity inherent to traditional research designs. Here, we used a dynamic paradigm free from such interference to reveal previously hidden and behaviorally relevant dynamics of alpha power and slow negative potentials, thereby providing a significant contribution to our knowledge about these key signatures of spatio-temporal top-down attention.

Automated summary

This study investigated the characteristics of spatio-temporal attention using electroencephalography. The results showed that dynamic alpha power modulations and slow negative potentials were correlated with subsequent memory performance, indicating a preferential allocation of attention to task-relevant locations and time points. This study provides important insights into the key signatures of spatio-temporal top-down attention.