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The Journal of Neuroscience, June 17, 2009, 29(24):7869-7876; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0113-09.2009

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
The Phase of Ongoing EEG Oscillations Predicts Visual Perception

Niko A. Busch,^1,2 Julien Dubois,^1,2,3 and Rufin VanRullen^1,2

¹Université de Toulouse, Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université Paul Sabatier, France, ²Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5549, Faculté de Médecine de Rangueil, 31062 Toulouse, France, and ³California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125

Correspondence should be addressed to Niko A. Busch, Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse Cédex 9, France. Email: busch{at}cerco.ups-tlse.fr

Oscillations are ubiquitous in electrical recordings of brain activity. While the amplitude of ongoing oscillatory activity is known to correlate with various aspects of perception, the influence of oscillatory phase on perception remains unknown. In particular, since phase varies on a much faster timescale than the more sluggish amplitude fluctuations, phase effects could reveal the fine-grained neural mechanisms underlying perception. We presented brief flashes of light at the individual luminance threshold while EEG was recorded. Although the stimulus on each trial was identical, subjects detected approximately half of the flashes (hits) and entirely missed the other half (misses). Phase distributions across trials were compared between hits and misses. We found that shortly before stimulus onset, each of the two distributions exhibited significant phase concentration, but at different phase angles. This effect was strongest in the theta and alpha frequency bands. In this time–frequency range, oscillatory phase accounted for at least 16% of variability in detection performance and allowed the prediction of performance on the single-trial level. This finding indicates that the visual detection threshold fluctuates over time along with the phase of ongoing EEG activity. The results support the notion that ongoing oscillations shape our perception, possibly by providing a temporal reference frame for neural codes that rely on precise spike timing.

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Received Jan. 8, 2009; revised April 2, 2009; accepted May 19, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to Niko A. Busch, Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse Cédex 9, France. Email: busch{at}cerco.ups-tlse.fr

Related articles in J. Neurosci.:

The Phase of Ongoing EEG Oscillations Uncovers the Fine Temporal Structure of Conscious Perception

Valentin Wyart and Claire Sergent
J. Neurosci. 2009 29: 12839-12841. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V. Wyart and C. Sergent The Phase of Ongoing EEG Oscillations Uncovers the Fine Temporal Structure of Conscious Perception J. Neurosci., October 14, 2009; 29(41): 12839 - 12841. [Full Text] [PDF]

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