Individual differences in perceptual capacity depend on aperiodic slope, not alpha oscillations

Abstract

Visual processing is subject to strict capacity limitations that restrict the number of stimuli that can be individuated, that is, distinguished as separate objects, to around 3-4 items at a time. The neural mechanisms that give rise to this subitizing limit are unclear. Here, we tested an account of the subitizing limit that attributes it to the amount of information that can be processed within one cycle of the 8-14 Hz alpha oscillation. This account proposes that the subitizing limit should be correlated with an individuals alpha oscillation frequency. We pitted this account against one based on neural excitatory-inhibitory balance, as indexed by the slope of the aperiodic component of the electrophysiological power spectrum. To test these accounts, we had human participants (N=51; 37 females) complete a visual enumeration task while we measured their brain activity with electroencephalography (EEG). We extracted aperiodic and alpha-band activity from the pre-stimulus period and correlated these with model-based estimates of individuals subitizing capacity. Alpha oscillations were not correlated with subitizing capacity within-participants or as individual differences, but they were associated with other elements of enumeration performance, including baseline reaction times and the slope of the performance decrement outside the subitizing range. By contrast, individual differences in aperiodic slope reliably predicted individuals subitizing capacity. These results suggest that differences in neural excitatory:inhibitory balance are the source of individuation-related capacity limits, not alpha-frequency sampling. Significance StatementBusy, multi-element visual scenes are common in daily life. Human visual perception, however, is capacity limited, individuating only 3-4 objects at a time. The source of these capacity limitations is currently unknown. This work examines the neural correlates of perceptual capacity within and between individuals, comparing a rhythmic pulsed inhibition account with one based on the arhythmic balance of neural excitation and inhibition. Our results demonstrate that individuals with more arhythmic inhibition demonstrate greater perceptual capacity. These results help to explain how excitation and inhibition across populations of neurons sculpts the capacity of the neural system and suggest targets for future interventions to improve perceptual capacity with arhythmic brain stimulation.