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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.06.12.598458

Pre-stimulus beta power encodes explicit and implicit perceptual biases in distinct cortical areas

Forster, C.·Stephani, T.·Grund, M.·Panagoulas, E.·Al, E.·Hofmann, S. M.·Nikulin, V. V.·Villringer, A.
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Abstract

Perception is biased by expectations and previous actions. Pre-stimulus brain oscillations are a potential candidate for implementing biases in the brain. In two EEG studies (43 and 39 participants) on somatosensory near-threshold detection, we investigated the pre-stimulus neural correlates of an (implicit) previous choice bias and an explicit bias. The explicit bias was introduced by informing participants about stimulus probability on a single-trial level (volatile context) or block-wise (stable context). Behavioural analysis confirmed adjustments in the decision criterion and confidence ratings according to the cued probabilities and previous choice-induced biases. Pre-stimulus beta power with distinct sources in sensory and higher-order cortical areas predicted explicit and implicit biases, respectively, on a single subject level and partially mediated the impact of previous choice and stimulus probability on the detection response. We suggest pre-stimulus beta oscillations in distinct brain areas as a neural correlate of explicit and implicit biases in somatosensory perception.

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Forster, C., Stephani, T., Grund, M., Panagoulas, E., Al, E., Hofmann, S. M., Nikulin, V. V., Villringer, A.. 2024-06-13. Pre-stimulus beta power encodes explicit and implicit perceptual biases in distinct cortical areas. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.06.12.598458

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