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Summary: Spontaneous EEG oscillations reveal periodic
sampling of visual attention
Niko A. Buscha,b,1
and Rufin VanRullenc,d
a
Institute of Medical Psychology, CharitéUniversitätsmedizin, 10099 Berlin, Germany; b
Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität, 10117 Berlin,
Germany; c
Université de Toulouse, Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062 Toulouse, France; and d
Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5549, Faculté de Médecine de Toulouse Rangueil, 31062 Toulouse, France
Edited by Dale Purves, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, and approved August 10, 2010 (received for review April 9, 2010)
An important effect of sustained attention is the facilitation of
perception. Although the term "sustained" suggests that this ben-
eficial effect endures continuously as long as something is
attended, we present electrophysiological evidence that percep-
tion at attended locations is actually modulated periodically. Sub-
jects detected brief light flashes that were presented peripherally
at locations that were either attended or unattended. We ana-
lyzed the correlation between detection performance for attended
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