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 reflect

SUBMITTER: Tan H-RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3778976 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature