Frings, C. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2026

The causal role of β-oscillations in maintaining perception-action representations

The binding of perception and action features into common representations, so-called event files, is a core mechanism supporting goal-directed behavior. Recent work using electroencephalography has presented correlational evidence linking the maintenance of perception-action representations to oscillatory activity in the {beta}-frequency range. Here, we used transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to test whether {beta}-oscillations play a causal role in event-file maintenance. Participants performed a distractor-response binding task with a sequential prime-probe structure while receiving either active {beta}-tACS over the left occipito-parietal cortex or a novel shunt stimulation designed to produce comparable sensory effects but substantially weaker cortical stimulation. Prime-probe intervals were varied to manipulate event-file maintenance. {beta}-tACS did not modulate behavioral binding effects during stimulation. However, we observed a significant aftereffect on behavioral distractor-response binding after stimulation. This effect was restricted to short prime-probe intervals, where event files are typically still available, and was absent at longer intervals, where event files commonly decay. These findings provide causal evidence that {beta}-oscillations contribute to the stabilization of perception-action representations over time. More broadly, they support the view that {beta}-oscillations help maintain the current cognitive-motor state and preserve the status-quo in action control.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Distractor-response binding influences visual search

Intertrial priming effects in visual search and action control suggest the involvement of binding and retrieval processes. However, the role of distractor-response binding (DRB) in visual search has been largely overlooked, and the specific processing stage within the functional architecture of attentional guidance where the DRB occurs remains unclear. To address these gaps, we implemented two search tasks, where participants responded based on a separate feature from the one defining the target. We kept the target dimension consistent across trials while varying the color and shape of the distractor. Moreover, we either repeated or randomized the target position in different sessions. Our results revealed a pronounced response priming, a difference between trials where the response changed vs. repeated: they were stronger when distractor features or the target position were repeated than they varied. Furthermore, the distractor feature priming, a difference between the distractor features repetition and switch, was contingent on the target position, suggesting that DRB likely operates at late stages of target identification and response selection. These insights affirm the presence of DRB during visual search and support the framework of binding and retrieval in action control as a basis for observed intertrial priming effects related to distractor features. Public significance statementThis study investigated inter-trial effects within visual search tasks and uncovered significant evidence for the role of distractor-response binding. This phenomenon involves linking a response in a given trial to the perceptual features (e.g. color and shape) of non-target items. Crucially, the study revealed that this distractor-response binding effect depends on whether the target location is repeated nearly repeated, suggesting that the retrieval of a previous response occurs at the later stages of target identification or response selection, even though non-target features likely are identified at an earlier stage.

neuroscience↗