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bioRxiv · 10.1101/239061

Entrainment of theta, not alpha, oscillations is predictive of the brightness enhancement of a flickering stimulus

Bertrand, J. K.·Wispinski, N. J.·Mathewson, K. E.·Chapman, C. S.
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Abstract

Frequency-dependent brightness enhancement, where a flickering light can appear twice as bright as an equiluminant constant light, has been reported to exist within the alpha (8 - 12 Hz) band. Could oscillatory neural activity be driving this perceptual effect? Here, in two experiments, human subjects reported which of two flickering stimuli were brighter. Strikingly, 4 Hz stimuli were reported as brighter more than 80% of the time when compared to all other tested frequencies, even though all stimuli were equiluminant and of equal temporal length. Electroencephalography recordings showed that inter-trial phase coherence (ITC) of theta (4 Hz) was: 1) Significantly greater than alpha, contralateral to the flickering stimulus; 2) Enhanced by the presence of a second ipsilateral 4 Hz flickering stimulus; and 3) Uniquely lateralized, unlike the alpha band. Importantly, on trials with two identical stimuli (i.e. 4 Hz vs 4 Hz), the brightness discrimination judgment could be predicted by the hemispheric balance in the amount of 4 Hz ITC. We speculate that the theta rhythm plays a distinct information transfer role, where its ability to share information between hemispheres via entrainment promotes a better processing of visual information to inform a discrimination decision.

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Bertrand, J. K., Wispinski, N. J., Mathewson, K. E., Chapman, C. S.. 2017-12-23. Entrainment of theta, not alpha, oscillations is predictive of the brightness enhancement of a flickering stimulus. https://doi.org/10.1101/239061

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