Cross-modal interaction of Alpha Activity does not reflect inhibition of early sensory processing: A frequency tagging study using EEG and MEG

Selective attention involves prioritizing relevant sensory input while suppressing irrelevant stimuli. It has been proposed that oscillatory alpha-band activity ([~]10 Hz) aids this process by functionally inhibiting early sensory regions. However, recent studies have challenged this notion. Our EEG and MEG studies aimed to investigate whether alpha oscillations serve as a gatekeeper for downstream signal transmission. We first observed these effects in an EEG study and then replicated them using MEG, which allowed us to localize the sources. We employed a cross-modal paradigm where visual cues indicated whether upcoming targets required visual or auditory discrimination. To assess inhibition, we utilized frequency-tagging, simultaneously flickering the fixation cross at 36 Hz and playing amplitude-modulated white noise at 40 Hz during the cue-to-target interval. Consistent with prior research, we observed an increase in posterior alpha activity following cues signalling auditory targets. However, remarkably, both visual and auditory frequency tagged responses amplified in anticipation of auditory targets, correlating with alpha activity amplitude. Our findings suggest that when attention shifts to auditory processing, the visual stream remains responsive and is not hindered by occipital alpha activity. This implies that alpha modulation does not solely regulate gain control in early visual areas but rather orchestrates signal transmission to later stages of the processing stream.