Traveling EEG slow oscillation along the dorsal attention network initiates spontaneous perceptual switching
An ambiguous figure such as the Necker cube causes spontaneous perceptual switching (SPS). The mechanism of SPS in multistable perception has not yet been determined. Although early psychological studies suggested that SPS may be caused by fatigue or satiation of orientation, the neural mechanism of SPS is still unknown. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown that the dorsal attention network (DAN), which mainly controls voluntary attention, is involved in bistable perception of the Necker cube. To determine whether neural dynamics along the DAN cause SPS, we performed simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and fMRI during an SPS task with the Necker cube, with every SPS reported by pressing a button. This EEGfMRI integrated analysis showed that (a) 34Hz spectral EEG power modulation at fronto-central, parietal, and centro-parietal electrode sites sequentially appeared from 750 to 350ms prior to the button press; and (b) activations correlating with the EEG modulation traveled along the DAN from the frontal to the parietal regions. These findings suggest that slow oscillation initiates SPS through global dynamics along the attentional system such as the DAN.
eeg slow oscillation dorsal attention network multistable perception fmri simultaneous eegfmri intrinsic neural dynamics