TY - JOUR
T1 - Slow neural oscillations explain temporal fluctuations in distractibility
AU - Lui, Troby Ka Yan
AU - Obleser, Jonas
AU - Wöstmann, Malte
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - Human environments comprise various sources of distraction, which often occur unexpectedly in time. The proneness to distraction (i.e., distractibility) is posited to be independent of attentional sampling of targets, but its temporal dynamics and neurobiological basis are largely unknown. Brain oscillations in the theta band (3 – 8 Hz) have been associated with fluctuating neural excitability, which is hypothesised here to explain rhythmic modulation of distractibility. In a pitch discrimination task (N = 30) with unexpected auditory distractors, we show that distractor-evoked neural responses in the electroencephalogram and perceptual susceptibility to distraction were co-modulated and cycled approximately 3 – 5 times per second. Pre-distractor neural phase in left inferior frontal and insular cortex regions explained fluctuating distractibility. Thus, human distractibility is not constant but fluctuates on a subsecond timescale. Furthermore, slow neural oscillations subserve the behavioural consequences of a hitherto largely unexplained but ever-increasing phenomenon in modern environments – distraction by unexpected sound.
AB - Human environments comprise various sources of distraction, which often occur unexpectedly in time. The proneness to distraction (i.e., distractibility) is posited to be independent of attentional sampling of targets, but its temporal dynamics and neurobiological basis are largely unknown. Brain oscillations in the theta band (3 – 8 Hz) have been associated with fluctuating neural excitability, which is hypothesised here to explain rhythmic modulation of distractibility. In a pitch discrimination task (N = 30) with unexpected auditory distractors, we show that distractor-evoked neural responses in the electroencephalogram and perceptual susceptibility to distraction were co-modulated and cycled approximately 3 – 5 times per second. Pre-distractor neural phase in left inferior frontal and insular cortex regions explained fluctuating distractibility. Thus, human distractibility is not constant but fluctuates on a subsecond timescale. Furthermore, slow neural oscillations subserve the behavioural consequences of a hitherto largely unexplained but ever-increasing phenomenon in modern environments – distraction by unexpected sound.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85154061990&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102458
DO - 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102458
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 37088261
AN - SCOPUS:85154061990
SN - 0301-0082
VL - 226
JO - Progress in Neurobiology
JF - Progress in Neurobiology
M1 - 102458
ER -