Fig. 1: A schematic plot demonstrating how alpha oscillations can be generated by pulsed inhibition. | Communications Psychology

Fig. 1: A schematic plot demonstrating how alpha oscillations can be generated by pulsed inhibition.

From: Distractor inhibition by alpha oscillations is controlled by an indirect mechanism governed by goal-relevant information

Fig. 1

a The raster represents the firing of a group of neurons. To the left, the firing rate of the neurons is high, and the firing is asynchronous. To the right, the firing is inhibited every ~100 ms, i.e. at ~10 Hz. b The population activity of the neurons above reflects the local field potential or scalp EEG. On the left, the neurons are firing strongly but asynchronous. As such, no modulation is observed in the population signal. The right oscillations are generated by pulsed inhibition silencing the neurons periodically. This scheme explains why an increase in alpha power is inversely correlated with the firing rate. Adapted from ref. 69.

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