title: Oscillatory brain activity in the alpha range is modulated by the content of word-prompted mental imagery.
abstract: Mental imagery is a fundamental cognitive process of interest to basic scientists and clinical researchers. This study examined large-scale oscillatory brain activity in the alpha band (8-12 Hz) during language-driven mental imagery using dense-array EEG. Three experiments demonstrated relative increases in alpha amplitude: (1) during imagery prompted by words compared to fixation without imagery instruction, (2) during imagery of word content compared to imagery of geometric shapes, and (3) during imagery of emotionally evocative words compared to imagery of less emotionally arousing content. Alpha increases for semantically loaded imagery were observed in parieto-occipital regions, sustained throughout the imagery period. Findings imply that alpha oscillations index active memory and internal cognitive processing, reflecting neural communication in cortical networks representing motor, semantic, and perceptual aspects of the imagined scene.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bartsch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology and Education, Universität Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Gilava
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hamuni
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Miskovic
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keil
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000513:Alpha Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alpha; Cognition; EEG/ERP; Emotion; Imagery