Citation

van Ede F, Rohenkohl G, Gould I, Nobre AC. J. Neurosci. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Society for Neuroscience)

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1134-20.2020

PMID

32900836

Abstract

Temporal expectations enable anticipatory brain states that prepare us for upcoming perception and action. We investigated the purpose-dependent nature and consequences of cued temporal expectations on brain and behaviour in male and female human volunteers, using two matched visual-motor tasks that stressed either response speed or visual accuracy. We show that the consequences of temporal expectations are fundamentally purpose dependent. Temporal expectations predominantly affected response times when visual demands were low and speed was more important, but perceptual accuracy when visual demands were more challenging. Using Magnetoencephalography, we further show how temporal expectations latch onto anticipatory neural states associated with concurrent spatial expectations - modulating task-specific anticipatory neural lateralisation of oscillatory brain activity in a modality- and frequency-specific manner. By relating these brain states to behaviour, we finally reveal how the behavioural relevance of such anticipatory brain states is similarly purpose dependent.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Knowing when events may occur helps prepare neural activity for upcoming perception and action. It is becoming increasingly clear that distinct sources of temporal expectations may facilitate performance via distinct mechanisms. Another relevant dimension to consider regards the distinct purposes that temporal expectations may serve. Here, we demonstrate that the consequences of temporal expectations on neurophysiological brain activity and behaviour are fundamentally purpose dependent, and show how temporal expectations interact with task-relevant neural states in a modality- and frequency-specific manner. This brings the important insight that the ways in which temporal expectations influence brain and behaviour - and how brain activity is related to behaviour - are not fixed properties but rather depend on the task at hand.

Language: en