title: Spatiotemporal dynamics of auditory attention synchronize with speech.
abstract: Attention plays a fundamental role in selectively processing stimuli in our environment despite distraction. Spatial attention induces increasing and decreasing power of neural alpha oscillations (8-12 Hz) in brain regions ipsilateral and contralateral to the locus of attention, respectively. This study tested whether the hemispheric lateralization of alpha power codes not just the spatial location but also the temporal structure of the stimulus. Participants attended to spoken digits presented to one ear and ignored tightly synchronized distracting digits presented to the other ear. In the magnetoencephalogram, spatial attention induced lateralization of alpha power in parietal, but notably also in auditory cortical regions. This alpha power lateralization was not maintained steadily but fluctuated in synchrony with the speech rate and lagged the time course of low-frequency (1-5 Hz) sensory synchronization. Higher amplitude of alpha power modulation at the speech rate was predictive of a listener's enhanced performance of stream-specific speech comprehension. Our findings demonstrate that alpha power lateralization is modulated in tune with the sensory input and acts as a spatiotemporal filter controlling the read-out of sensory content.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, 23562 Luebeck, Germany; Max Planck Research Group "Auditory Cognition," Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; malte.woestmann@uni-luebeck.de jonas.obleser@uni-luebeck.de.
authors.forename: Malte
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wöstmann
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Research Group "Auditory Cognition," Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada N6A 5C2;
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.affiliation: Magnetoencephalography and Cortical Networks Unit, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maess
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, 23562 Luebeck, Germany; Max Planck Research Group "Auditory Cognition," Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; malte.woestmann@uni-luebeck.de jonas.obleser@uni-luebeck.de.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7619-0459
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Obleser
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alpha lateralization; attention; neural oscillations; speech; synchronization