{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,14]],"date-time":"2026-02-14T05:40:37Z","timestamp":1771047637782,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MIT Press","issue":"9","content-domain":{"domain":["direct.mit.edu"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2011,9,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>Because the human visual system is continually being bombarded with inputs, it is necessary to have effective mechanisms for filtering out irrelevant information. This is partly achieved by the allocation of attention, allowing the visual system to process relevant input while blocking out irrelevant input. What is the physiological substrate of attentional allocation? It has been proposed that alpha activity reflects functional inhibition. Here we asked if inhibition by alpha oscillations has behavioral consequences for suppressing the perception of unattended input. To this end, we investigated the influence of alpha activity on motion processing in two attentional conditions using magneto-encephalography. The visual stimuli used consisted of two random-dot kinematograms presented simultaneously to the left and right visual hemifields. Subjects were cued to covertly attend the left or right kinematogram. After 1.5 sec, a second cue tested whether subjects could report the direction of coherent motion in the attended (80%) or unattended hemifield (20%). Occipital alpha power was higher contralateral to the unattended side than to the attended side, thus suggesting inhibition of the unattended hemifield. Our key finding is that this alpha lateralization in the 20% invalidly cued trials did correlate with the perception of motion direction: Subjects with pronounced alpha lateralization were worse at detecting motion direction in the unattended hemifield. In contrast, lateralization did not correlate with visual discrimination in the attended visual hemifield. Our findings emphasize the suppressive nature of alpha oscillations and suggest that processing of inputs outside the field of attention is weakened by means of increased alpha activity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2010.21557","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2010,8,3]],"date-time":"2010-08-03T13:06:11Z","timestamp":1280840771000},"page":"2494-2502","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/mitpressjournals.corrections.policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":422,"title":["Alpha Oscillations Correlate with the Successful Inhibition of Unattended Stimuli"],"prefix":"10.1162","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Barbara F.","family":"H\u00e4ndel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"1Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands"},{"name":"2University of Maastricht, The Netherlands"}]},{"given":"Thomas","family":"Haarmeier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"3University of T\u00fcbingen, Germany"}]},{"given":"Ole","family":"Jensen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands"}]}],"member":"281","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2011,9,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2021072901020606300_R1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"307","DOI":"10.1016\/0013-4694(78)90306-1","article-title":"On and off effects in the background EEG activity during one-second photic stimulation.","volume":"44","author":"Aranibar","year":"1978","journal-title":"Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1690","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhj104","article-title":"Pre- and poststimulus alpha rhythms are related to conscious visual perception: A high-resolution EEG study.","volume":"16","author":"Babiloni","year":"2006","journal-title":"Cerebral Cortex"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1016\/S1388-2457(00)00537-X","article-title":"Event-related desynchronization during anticipatory attention for an upcoming stimulus: A comparative EEG\/MEG study.","volume":"112","author":"Bastiaansen","year":"2001","journal-title":"Clinical Neurophysiology"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1300","DOI":"10.1016\/S1388-2457(00)00272-8","article-title":"Tangential derivative mapping of axial MEG applied to event-related desynchronization research.","volume":"111","author":"Bastiaansen","year":"2000","journal-title":"Clinical Neurophysiology"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"527","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01797193","article-title":"\u00dcber das Elektroenkephalogramm des Menschen.","volume":"87","author":"Berger","year":"1929","journal-title":"Archiv f\u00fcr Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5863","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0539-09.2009","article-title":"Frontoparietal cortex controls spatial attention through modulation of anticipatory alpha rhythms.","volume":"29","author":"Capotosto","year":"2009","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"376","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cogbrainres.2004.03.009","article-title":"Alpha rhythm of the EEG modulates visual detection performance in humans.","volume":"20","author":"Ergenoglu","year":"2004","journal-title":"Brain Research, Cognitive Brain Research"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3929","DOI":"10.1097\/00001756-199812010-00030","article-title":"Parieto-occipital approximately 10 Hz activity reflects anticipatory state of visual attention mechanisms.","volume":"9","author":"Foxe","year":"1998","journal-title":"NeuroReport"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.1016\/S0926-6410(01)00034-9","article-title":"Attention-dependent suppression of distracter visual input can be cross-modally cued as indexed by anticipatory parieto-occipital alpha-band oscillations.","volume":"12","author":"Fu","year":"2001","journal-title":"Brain Research, Cognitive Brain Research"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3988","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.5476-07.2008","article-title":"Maps of visual space in human occipital cortex are retinotopic, not spatiotopic.","volume":"28","author":"Gardner","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1589","DOI":"10.1016\/j.visres.2004.01.009","article-title":"Improvement of visual acuity by spatial cueing: A comparative study in human and non-human primates.","volume":"44","author":"Golla","year":"2004","journal-title":"Vision Research"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1002\/hbm.20842","article-title":"Somatosensory working memory performance in humans depends on both engagement and disengagement of regions in a distributed network.","volume":"31","author":"Haegens","year":"2010","journal-title":"Human Brain Mapping"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"413","DOI":"10.1103\/RevModPhys.65.413","article-title":"Magnetoencephalography\u2014Theory, instrumentation, and applications to noninvasive studies of the working human brain.","volume":"65","author":"H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4nien","year":"1993","journal-title":"Reviews of Modern Physics"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1542","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhl063","article-title":"Opposite dependencies on visual motion coherence in human area MT+ and early visual cortex.","volume":"17","author":"H\u00e4ndel","year":"2007","journal-title":"Cerebral Cortex"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2902","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhn049","article-title":"Selective attention increases the dependency of cortical responses on visual motion coherence in man.","volume":"18","author":"H\u00e4ndel","year":"2008","journal-title":"Cerebral Cortex"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1465","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2007.07.011","article-title":"Prestimulus oscillations predict visual perception performance between and within subjects.","volume":"37","author":"Hanslmayr","year":"2007","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"877","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/12.8.877","article-title":"Oscillations in the alpha band (9\u201312 Hz) increase with memory load during retention in a short-term memory task.","volume":"12","author":"Jensen","year":"2002","journal-title":"Cerebral Cortex"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3244","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.5399-06.2007","article-title":"Modulation of gamma and alpha activity during a working memory task engaging the dorsal or ventral stream.","volume":"27","author":"Jokisch","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3844","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.01234.2005","article-title":"Increases in alpha oscillatory power reflect an active retinotopic mechanism for distracter suppression during sustained visuospatial attention.","volume":"95","author":"Kelly","year":"2006","journal-title":"Journal of Neurophysiology"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1016\/S0165-0173(98)00056-3","article-title":"EEG alpha and theta oscillations reflect cognitive and memory performance: A review and analysis.","volume":"29","author":"Klimesch","year":"1999","journal-title":"Brain Research, Brain Research Reviews"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"493","DOI":"10.1016\/S0926-6410(98)00056-1","article-title":"\u201cParadoxical\u201d alpha synchronization in a memory task.","volume":"7","author":"Klimesch","year":"1999","journal-title":"Brain Research, Cognitive Brain Research"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"123","DOI":"10.1016\/S0168-5597(97)00078-6","article-title":"A method for the calculation of induced band power: Implications for the significance of brain oscillations.","volume":"108","author":"Klimesch","year":"1998","journal-title":"Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"63","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brainresrev.2006.06.003","article-title":"EEG alpha oscillations: The inhibition-timing hypothesis.","volume":"53","author":"Klimesch","year":"2007","journal-title":"Brain Research Reviews"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1016\/S0304-3940(97)13361-4","article-title":"Evidence for reactive magnetic lO-Hz rhythm in the human auditory cortex.","volume":"222","author":"Lehtel\u00e4","year":"1997","journal-title":"Neuroscience Letters"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"131","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brainres.2006.08.066","article-title":"Effects of memory load on cortical oscillatory activity during auditory pattern working memory.","volume":"1120","author":"Leiberg","year":"2006","journal-title":"Brain Research"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10186","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.2584-04.2004","article-title":"Prestimulus oscillations enhance psychophysical performance in humans.","volume":"24","author":"Linkenkaer-Hansen","year":"2004","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"683","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2009.08.012","article-title":"Temporal framing of thalamic relay-mode firing by phasic inhibition during the alpha rhythm.","volume":"63","author":"L\u00f6rincz","year":"2009","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"286","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03211350","article-title":"Statistical properties of forced-choice psychometric functions\u2014Implications of probit analysis.","volume":"37","author":"McKee","year":"1985","journal-title":"Perception & Psychophysics"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1038\/341052a0","article-title":"Neuronal correlates of a perceptual decision.","volume":"341","author":"Newsome","year":"1989","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1842","DOI":"10.1016\/S1388-2457(99)00141-8","article-title":"Event-related EEG\/MEG synchronization and desynchronization: Basic principles.","volume":"110","author":"Pfurtscheller","year":"1999","journal-title":"Clinical Neurophysiology"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1873","DOI":"10.1016\/S1388-2457(00)00428-4","article-title":"Functional dissociation of lower and upper frequency mu rhythms in relation to voluntary limb movement.","volume":"111","author":"Pfurtscheller","year":"2000","journal-title":"Clinical Neurophysiology"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1016\/S0167-8760(96)00066-9","article-title":"Event-related synchronization (ERS) in the alpha band\u2014An electrophysiological correlate of cortical idling: A review.","volume":"24","author":"Pfurtscheller","year":"1996","journal-title":"International Journal of Psychophysiology"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"603","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1460-9568.2007.05278.x","article-title":"Mechanisms of selective inhibition in visual spatial attention are indexed by alpha-band EEG synchronization.","volume":"25","author":"Rihs","year":"2007","journal-title":"European Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2010","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhm229","article-title":"Spontaneous fluctuations in posterior alpha-band EEG activity reflect variability in excitability of human visual areas.","volume":"18","author":"Romei","year":"2008","journal-title":"Cerebral Cortex"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1097\/WNR.0b013e3282f454c4","article-title":"Resting electroencephalogram alpha-power over posterior sites indexes baseline visual cortex excitability.","volume":"19","author":"Romei","year":"2008","journal-title":"NeuroReport"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2917","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1460-9568.2005.04482.x","article-title":"A shift of visual spatial attention is selectively associated with human EEG alpha activity.","volume":"22","author":"Sauseng","year":"2005","journal-title":"European Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"709","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2008.09.010","article-title":"Neuronal synchronization along the dorsal visual pathway reflects the focus of spatial attention.","volume":"60","author":"Siegel","year":"2008","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9494","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0875-06.2006","article-title":"Alpha-band electroencephalographic activity over occipital cortex indexes visuospatial attention bias and predicts visual target detection.","volume":"26","author":"Thut","year":"2006","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"380","DOI":"10.1016\/0168-5597(94)90126-0","article-title":"Event-related desynchronization and movement-related cortical potentials on the ECoG and EEG.","volume":"93","author":"Toro","year":"1994","journal-title":"Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8397","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0630-08.2008","article-title":"Gamma-band activity in human posterior parietal cortex encodes the motor goal during delayed prosaccades and antisaccades.","volume":"28","author":"Van Der Werf","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1816","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.1853-07.2008","article-title":"Prestimulus oscillatory activity in the alpha band predicts visual discrimination ability.","volume":"28","author":"van Dijk","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"RC63","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.20-06-j0002.2000","article-title":"Anticipatory biasing of visuospatial attention indexed by retinotopically specific alpha-band electroencephalography increases over occipital cortex.","volume":"20","author":"Worden","year":"2000","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1016\/S1053-8119(03)00341-0","article-title":"Attentional modulation of oscillatory activity in human visual cortex.","volume":"20","author":"Yamagishi","year":"2003","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"307","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2009.21247","article-title":"Detection of a weak somatosensory stimulus: Role of the prestimulus mu rhythm and its top\u2013down modulation.","volume":"22","author":"Zhang","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"},{"key":"2021072901020606300_R45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1915","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2008.20132","article-title":"Prestimulus cortical activity is correlated with speed of visuomotor processing.","volume":"20","author":"Zhang","year":"2008","journal-title":"Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"}],"container-title":["Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article-pdf\/23\/9\/2494\/1942203\/jocn.2010.21557.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"http:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article-pdf\/23\/9\/2494\/1942203\/jocn.2010.21557.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,29]],"date-time":"2024-03-29T00:30:20Z","timestamp":1711672220000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/direct.mit.edu\/jocn\/article\/23\/9\/2494\/5176\/Alpha-Oscillations-Correlate-with-the-Successful"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2011,9,1]]},"references-count":45,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2011,9,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2011,9,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/jocn.2010.21557","relation":{},"ISSN":["0898-929X","1530-8898"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0898-929X","type":"print"},{"value":"1530-8898","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published-other":{"date-parts":[[2011,9]]},"published":{"date-parts":[[2011,9,1]]}}}