Not so different after all: The same oscillatory processes support different types of attention

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Brain Oscillations

Background:

• Brain oscillations are increasingly recognized as physiological correlates of cognitive functions.
• Attention is a complex cognitive process with diverse manifestations.
• Understanding the neural basis of attention is crucial for cognitive neuroscience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an empirical and conceptual overview of how ongoing brain oscillatory activity supports attention.
• To focus on the neural correlates of top-down attention deployment.
• To synthesize research on oscillatory activity during spatial, temporal, selective, and internal attention.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature from the last two decades.
• Focus on studies investigating neural correlates of attention.
• Analysis of oscillatory activity modulations during attentional tasks.

Main Results:

• Ongoing oscillatory activity plays a significant role in attention.
• Two primary oscillatory processes are involved: alpha band power modulations and lower frequency phase modulations.
• These oscillatory mechanisms are observed across different types of attention (spatial, temporal, selective, internal).

Conclusions:

• Brain oscillations, specifically alpha power and lower frequency phase dynamics, are fundamental to top-down attention.
• These findings offer insights into the neural mechanisms underlying attentional control.
• This review contributes to the understanding of prediction and attention.