ArticleConsciousness and cognition2017
Prestimulus alpha-band power biases visual discrimination confidence, but not accuracy.
Article in Consciousness and cognition, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 96 papers.
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Who cites it
96 citing papers in PubMed.
- Towards an integrative neuroscience of metacognition.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Rhythmic stimulation elicits multiple, concurrent neural responses.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026Article
- Trial-by-trial fluctuations in decision criterion shape confidence.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Spontaneous changes in the prestimulus alpha power predict both objective and subjective aspects of perception-evidence from 4 paradigms and 471 experimental sessions.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026Article
- Prior Expectations Bias Confidence Judgments Through Parietal Alpha-Band Modulation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Perceptual decision-making in the sound-induced flash illusion: a trial-level hierarchical Bayesian integration of EEG and behavior.Behavioral and brain functions : BBF · 2026Article
- A novel bias-free approach for robust perceptual threshold estimation.Behavior research methods · 2026Article
- Alpha-band phase modulates perceptual sensitivity by changing internal noise and sensory tuning.eLife · 2026Article
- Type-1 and type-2 decisions feature computational noise of similar magnitude.Communications psychology · 2026Article
- Alpha frequency shapes perceptual sensitivity by modulating optimal phase likelihood.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Neural Oscillation as a Selective Modulatory Mechanism on Decision Confidence, Speed, and Accuracy.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Spontaneous Alpha-Band Lateralization Extends Persistence of Visual Information in Iconic Memory by Modulating Cortical Excitability.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- How disconfirmatory evidence shapes confidence in decision-making.Communications psychology · 2025Article
- Distinct alpha networks modulate different aspects of perceptual decision-making.PLoS biology · 2025Article
- Task-relevant information availability shapes eye movements and perceptual judgment confidence.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Synchronous Rhythmic Activity in Area V4 Can Impair Shape Detection and Neuronal Reliability.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Shared and Diverging Neural Dynamics Underlying False and Veridical Perception.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Pre-stimulus beta power mediates explicit and implicit perceptual biases in distinct cortical areas.Communications psychology · 2025Article
- Spectral and Topological Abnormalities of Resting and Task State EEG in Chinese Children with Developmental Dyslexia.Brain topography · 2025Article
- Selective Effects of Ongoing Alpha-Band Activity on Magno- and Parvo-Mediated Detection.Psychophysiology · 2025Article
36 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
The magnitude of power in the alpha-band (8-13Hz) of the electroencephalogram (EEG) prior to the onset of a near threshold visual stimulus predicts performance. Together with other findings, this has been interpreted as evidence that alpha-band dynamics reflect cortical excitability. We reasoned, however, that non-specific changes in excitability would be expected to influence signal and noise in the same way, leaving actual discriminability unchanged. Indeed, using a two-choice orientation discrimination task, we found that discrimination accuracy was unaffected by fluctuations in prestimulus alpha power. Decision confidence, on the other hand, was strongly negatively correlated with prestimulus alpha power. This finding constitutes a clear dissociation between objective and subjective measures of visual perception as a function of prestimulus cortical excitability. This dissociation is predicted by a model where the balance of evidence supporting each choice drives objective performance but only the magnitude of evidence supporting the selected choice drives subjective reports, suggesting that human perceptual confidence can be suboptimal with respect to tracking objective accuracy.
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