{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T03:27:32Z","timestamp":1777606052517,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MIT Press - Journals","issue":"5","content-domain":{"domain":["direct.mit.edu"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,5,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>Visual search\u2014finding a target element among similar-looking distractors\u2014is one of the prevailing experimental methods to study attention. Current theories of visual search postulate an early stage of feature extraction interacting with an attentional process that selects candidate targets for further analysis; in difficult search situations, this selection is iterated until the target is found. Although such theories predict an intrinsic periodicity in the neuronal substrates of attentional search, this prediction has not been extensively tested in human electrophysiology. Here, using EEG and TMS, we study attentional periodicities in visual search. EEG measurements indicated that successful and unsuccessful search trials were associated with different amounts of poststimulus oscillatory amplitude and phase-locking at \u223c6 Hz and opposite prestimulus oscillatory phase at \u223c6 Hz. A trial-by-trial comparison of pre- and poststimulus \u223c6 Hz EEG phases revealed that the functional interplay between prestimulus brain states, poststimulus oscillations, and successful search performance was mediated by a partial phase reset of ongoing oscillations. Independently, TMS applied over occipital cortex at various intervals after search onset demonstrated a periodic pattern of interference at \u223c6 Hz. The converging evidence from independent TMS and EEG measurements demonstrates that attentional search is modulated periodically by brain oscillations. This periodicity is naturally compatible with a sequential exploration by attention, although a parallel but rhythmically modulated attention spotlight cannot be entirely ruled out.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_00755","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,11,12]],"date-time":"2014-11-12T19:33:53Z","timestamp":1415820833000},"page":"945-958","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/mitpressjournals.corrections.policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":122,"title":["Theta Oscillations Modulate Attentional Search Performance Periodically"],"prefix":"10.1162","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Laura","family":"Dugu\u00e9","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"1Universit\u00e9 de Toulouse"},{"name":"2CNRS-CerCo, UMR 5549, Toulouse, France"}]},{"given":"Philippe","family":"Marque","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"3M\u00e9decine Physique et de R\u00e9adaptation, Toulouse, France"}]},{"given":"Rufin","family":"VanRullen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1Universit\u00e9 de Toulouse"},{"name":"2CNRS-CerCo, UMR 5549, Toulouse, France"}]}],"member":"281","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,5,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2021073000503686400_R1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"696","DOI":"10.1038\/303696a0","article-title":"Parallel versus serial processing in rapid pattern discrimination.","volume":"303","author":"Bergen","year":"1983","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"2021073000503686400_R2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16048","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1004801107","article-title":"Spontaneous EEG oscillations reveal periodic sampling of visual attention.","volume":"107","author":"Busch","year":"2010","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A."},{"key":"2021073000503686400_R3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1860","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1138071","article-title":"Top\u2013down 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