RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Neuronal Basis of Attention: Rate versus Synchronization Modulation
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 7679
OP 7686
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5640-07.2008
VO 28
IS 30
A1 Andres Buehlmann
A1 Gustavo Deco
YR 2008
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/30/7679.abstract
AB Extensive theoretical and experimental work on the neuronal correlates of visual attention raises two hypotheses about the underlying mechanisms. The first hypothesis, named biased competition, originates from experimental single-cell recordings that have shown that attention upmodulates the firing rates of the neurons encoding the attended features and downregulates the firing rates of the neurons encoding the unattended features. Furthermore, attentional modulation of firing rates increases along the visual pathway. The other, newer hypothesis assigns synchronization a crucial role in the attentional process. It stems from experiments that have shown that attention modulates gamma-frequency synchronization. In this paper, we study the coexistence of the two phenomena using a theoretical framework. We find that the two effects can vary independently of each other and across layers. Therefore, the two phenomena are not concomitant. However, we show that there is an advantage in the processing of information if rate modulation is accompanied by gamma modulation, namely that reaction times are shorter, implying behavioral relevance for gamma synchronization.