Attention explores space periodically at the theta frequency

Abstract

Voluntary attention is at the core of cognitive functions. Attention can be sustained at a location, or reoriented in space to allow processing at other locations, critical in an ever-changing environment. Numerous studies have investigated attentional orienting in time and space but little is known about the spatio-temporal dynamics of attentional reorienting. Here, we explicitly manipulated attentional reorienting using a cueing procedure in a 2-AFC orientation discrimination task. At various delays during the task, we interrogated attentional deployment by flashing two probe stimuli. Then, solving a second-degree equation to estimate the report probability at each probe location, we demonstrated that attention reorients periodically at ~4 Hz (theta) between the two stimulus locations. We further observed that each stimulus location is sampled at ~11 Hz (alpha). Finally, we support our mathematical approach using simulations and show that this method is sufficiently powered making it a valuable tool for studying the spatio-temporal dynamics of attention.