title: Selective modulation of auditory cortical alpha activity in an audiovisual spatial attention task.
abstract: Despite substantial research on attentional modulations of visual alpha activity, doubts remain as to the existence and functional relevance of auditory cortical alpha-band oscillations. It has been argued that auditory cortical alpha does not exist, cannot be measured noninvasively, or that it is dependent on visual alpha generators. This study aimed to address these remaining doubts concerning auditory cortical alpha. A magnetoencephalography study was conducted using a combined audiovisual spatial cueing paradigm. In each trial, a cue indicated the side (left or right) and the modality (auditory or visual) to attend, followed by a short lateralized auditory or visual stimulus. Participants were instructed to respond to the stimuli by a button press. Results show that auditory cortical alpha power is selectively modulated by the audiospatial, but not the visuospatial, attention task. These findings provide further evidence for a distinct auditory cortical alpha generator, which can be measured noninvasively.
authors.affiliation: Center for Mind / Brain Sciences, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy, and Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, University Lyon 1, 69500, Lyon-Bron, France.
authors.forename: Julia N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Frey
authors.forename: Nelly
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mainy
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lachaux
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Weisz
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000513:Alpha Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001307:Auditory Perception; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013017:Sound Localization; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alpha; attention; auditory