Backward alpha band oscillations shape perceptual bias under probabilistic cues.

ABSTRACT: Predictive coding theory suggests that prior knowledge is crucial for optimizing human decision-making. However, how cortical dynamics implement this integration remains unclear. Here, we employ a traveling wave approach to investigate how alpha band oscillations integrate prior expectations during a perceptual decision-making task. Our findings demonstrate that expectation-based knowledge triggers the propagation of alpha band traveling waves from frontal to occipital areas, with this increase associated with enhanced modulation of brain regions involved in stimulus processing and directly linked to prior-driven bias at the behavioral level. Moreover, participants who rely more on prior expectations exhibit stronger top-down signaling (frontal-to-occipital), whereas those who focus on sen

SUBMITTER: Tarasi L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12921037 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature