Traveling waves in attention networks inherit the rhythms of sensory systems

Auditory cueing and visual stimulation produce lateralized traveling waves at theta (3-7Hz) and alpha (7-12Hz), respectively, in EEG during a visual discrimination task.

• Why it matters: It remains unclear whether traveling waves in attention networks carry top-down signals or simply reflect sustained visuospatial attention and its alpha dynamics.
• What they did: Using electroencephalography, the study manipulated attention via auditory cueing versus visual stimulation while keeping the task constant, then tested whether wave frequency matched the engaged sensory cortex’s intrinsic rhythm.
• The result: Auditory cueing yielded lateralized theta traveling waves and visual stimulation yielded lateralized alpha traveling waves, and wave lateralization correlated with trial-by-trial alpha power lateralization.

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