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Updated: May 1, 2026
Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
Published on: July 5, 2015
Spontaneous neural fluctuations predict decisions to attend
Jesse J Bengson1, Todd A Kelley, Xiaoke Zhang
1University of California, Davis.
Ongoing brain activity, specifically occipital alpha-band power, influences where people choose to focus their spatial attention. This neural variability is key to understanding moment-to-moment decision-making processes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Decision-Making Research
Background:
- Neural signaling exhibits inherent variability, often disregarded as noise.
- This variability may play a crucial role in perception, cognition, and decision-making.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of ongoing neural activity in guiding voluntary decisions.
- To determine if neural variability predicts moment-to-moment choices in spatial attention.
Main Methods:
- Measured ongoing neural activity using occipital alpha-band power (8-13 Hz).
- Analyzed trial-by-trial correlations between neural activity and spatial attention choices in human participants.
Main Results:
- Momentary occipital alpha-band power significantly predicted subsequent choices of spatial attention.
- Demonstrated a direct link between ongoing neural states and voluntary attentional decisions.
Conclusions:
- Ongoing neural activity is not merely noise but actively biases voluntary decisions.
- Provides a mechanistic explanation for how neural variability influences moment-to-moment decision-making in attention.
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