RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Alpha oscillations link action to cognition: An oculomotor account of the brain’s dominant rhythm
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.09.24.461634
DO 10.1101/2021.09.24.461634
A1 Popov, Tzvetan
A1 Miller, Gregory A.
A1 Rockstroh, Brigitte
A1 Jensen, Ole
A1 Langer, Nicolas
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/09/24/2021.09.24.461634.abstract
AB 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”.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.