Attention differentially modulates the amplitude of resonance frequencies in the visual cortex

Abstract

Rhythmic visual stimuli (flicker) elicit rhythmic brain responses at the frequency of the stimulus, and attention generally enhances these oscillatory brain responses (steady state visual evoked potentials, SSVEPs). Although SSVEP responses have been tested for flicker frequencies up to 100\u202fHz [Herrmann, 2001], effects of attention on SSVEP amplitude have only been reported for lower frequencies (up to ∼30\u202fHz), with no systematic comparison across a wide, finely sampled frequency range. Does attention modulate SSVEP amplitude at higher flicker frequencies (gamma band, 30-80\u202fHz), and is attentional modulation constant across frequencies? By isolating SSVEP responses from the broadband EEG signal using a multivariate spatiotemporal source separation method, we demonstrate that flicker in the alpha and gamma bands elicit strongest and maximally phase stable brain responses (resonance), on which the effect of attention is opposite: positive for gamma and negative for alpha. Finding subject-specific gamma resonance frequency and a positive attentional modulation of gamma-band SSVEPs points to the untapped potential of flicker as a non-invasive tool for studying the causal effects of interactions between visual gamma-band rhythmic stimuli and endogenous gamma oscillations on perception and attention.