Spontaneous Alpha-Band Oscillations Bias Subjective Contrast Perception

Elio Balestrieri; Niko A Busch

doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1972-21.2022

Spontaneous Alpha-Band Oscillations Bias Subjective Contrast Perception

J Neurosci. 2022 Jun 22;42(25):5058-5069. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1972-21.2022.

Authors

Elio Balestrieri^{1

2}, Niko A Busch^{3

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany 48149.
² Otto-Creutzfeldt-Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany 48149.
³ Institute of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany 48149 niko.busch@wwu.de.

Abstract

Perceptual decisions depend both on the features of the incoming stimulus and on the ongoing brain activity at the moment the stimulus is received. Specifically, trial-to-trial fluctuations in cortical excitability have been linked to fluctuations in the amplitude of prestimulus α oscillations (∼8-13 Hz), which are in turn are associated with fluctuations in subjects' tendency to report the detection of a stimulus. It is currently unknown whether α oscillations bias postperceptual decision-making, or even bias subjective perception itself. To answer this question, we used a contrast discrimination task in which both male and female human subjects reported which of two gratings (one in each hemifield) was perceived as having a stronger contrast. Our EEG analysis showed that subjective contrast was reduced for the stimulus in the hemifield represented in the hemisphere with relatively stronger prestimulus α amplitude, reflecting reduced cortical excitability. Furthermore, the strength of this spontaneous hemispheric lateralization was strongly correlated with the magnitude of individual subjects' biases, suggesting that the spontaneous patterns of α lateralization play a role in explaining the intersubject variability in contrast perception. These results indicate that spontaneous fluctuations in cortical excitability, indicated by patterns of prestimulus α amplitude, affect perceptual decisions by altering the phenomenological perception of the visual world.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our moment-to-moment perception of the world is shaped by the features of the environment surrounding us, as much as by the constantly evolving states that characterize our brain activity. Previous research showed how the ongoing electrical activity of the brain can influence whether a stimulus has accessed conscious perception. However, evidence is currently missing on whether these electrical brain states can be associated to the subjective experience of a sensory input. Here we show that local changes in patterns of electrical brain activity preceding visual stimulation can bias our phenomenological perception. Importantly, we show that the strength of these variations can help explain the great interindividual variability in how we perceive the visual environment surrounding us.

Keywords: alpha oscillations; appearance; attention; lateralization; perceptual bias; subjective perception.