title: Gearing up for action: attentive tracking dynamically tunes sensory and motor oscillations in the alpha and beta band.
abstract: Allocation of attention during goal-directed behavior entails simultaneous processing of relevant and attenuation of irrelevant information. How the brain delegates such processes when confronted with dynamic (biological motion) stimuli and harnesses relevant sensory information for sculpting prospective responses remains unclear. We analyzed neuromagnetic signals that were recorded while participants attentively tracked an actor's pointing movement that ended at the location where subsequently the response-cue indicated the required response. We found the observers' spatial allocation of attention to be dynamically reflected in lateralized parieto-occipital alpha (8-12 Hz) activity and to have a lasting influence on motor preparation. Specifically, beta (16-25 Hz) power modulation reflected observers' tendency to selectively prepare for a spatially compatible response even before knowing the required one. We discuss the observed frequency-specific and temporally evolving neural activity within a framework of integrated visuomotor processing and point towards possible implications about the mechanisms involved in action observation.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, College of Science and Engineering & College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, 58 Hillhead Street, Glasgow G12 8QB, UK. Heng-RuMay.Tan@glasgow.ac.uk
authors.forename: Heng-Ru May
authors.initials: H-RM
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leuthold
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gross
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Action observation; Alpha and beta oscillations; Attentive tracking; Dynamic stimuli; Goal-directed behavior; Magnetoencephalography (MEG); Spatial attention