The Alpha-band of the EEG Modulates the Perceived Location of Moving Targets

The alpha rhythm of the EEG has been reported to gate the flow of sensory information in the visual system by causing fluctuating states of excitation and inhibition, with processing occurring more quickly during periods of excitation. This fluctuation in excitability presumably modulates perceptual outcomes, such as stimulus detection and perceived timing (VanRullen, 2016). If this is true, one would also expect that the perceived location of moving targets would be similarly modulated, since faster rates of processing during periods of excitation would cause the target to be perceived at an earlier location in its trajectory. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by asking participants to report the perceived starting locations of moving targets, with target onsets timed to occur at different phases of the alpha rhythm after entrainment to 10 Hz by a rhythmic auditory click. The behavioral time series of localization accuracies was analyzed with a Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT) across subjects after bootstrapping. A significant 10Hz frequency in the FFT confirmed the entrainment’s modulation of participants’ perceptual processing of the target’s location. These findings reveal a pivotal role of alpha oscillations on the localization of moving targets, enhancing our understanding of the role played by neural rhythms in visual perception and providing a possible explanation for several mislocalization phenomena, such as the Frohlich effect.