ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2019
The generation and propagation of the human alpha rhythm.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 219 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
219 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 437 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Caffeinated Brain Part 3: The Effect of Caffeine on Electroencephalography (EEG) During Wakefulness-A Systematic and Mechanistic Review.Nutrients · 2026Pooled it
- The effect of mobile phone electromagnetic fields on the human resting state wake EEG and event-related potential: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Bioelectromagnetics · 2025Pooled it
- Oscillatory activity underlying cognitive performance in children and adolescents with autism: a systematic review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Preventing slowing down of alpha rhythms in stroke patients through modulation of cortical excitatory-inhibitory balance: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Effects of heat-treatedFrontiers in nutrition · 2026Trial
- Distinct electroencephalography alpha-band rhythms map macroscale brain gradients.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026Article
- Dual Mechanisms of Impaired Visual Processing in Glaucoma: Insights From Resting-State and Task-Related EEG.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- At-home limbic-targeted transcranial electrical stimulation during sleep: a feasibility study in healthy adults.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026Article
- Frequency and laminar profile of feature-specific visual activity revealed by interleaved EEG-fMRI.eLife · 2026Article
- Traveling waves along the cortical depth reflect structured synaptic inputs.Research square · 2026Article
- Thalamic oscillations distinguish natural states of consciousness in humans.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Alpha Reactivity Dynamics Reveal Multi-System Variability Without Global Alpha Slowing in Fragile X Syndrome.Research square · 2026Article
- Sub-second fluctuations between top-down and bottom-up modes distinguish diverse human brain states.Current biology : CB · 2026Article
- The alpha rhythm: from physiology to behavior.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Hidden Spirals Reveal the Neurocomputational Mechanisms of Traveling Waves in Human Memory.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Traveling-wave transcranial alternating current stimulation (twtACS) causally links neural timing to cognitive function.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Propofol-induced loss of responsiveness reorganizes cortical traveling waves in the human brain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Resting-state EEG alpha-BOLD coupling spatially follows cortical cell-type and receptor gradients.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Planar, spiral, and concentric traveling waves distinguish behavioral states in human memory.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The electrophysiological basis of resting-state fMRI hyperconnectivity in early Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2026Article
159 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 10 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The alpha rhythm is the longest-studied brain oscillation and has been theorized to play a key role in cognition. Still, its physiology is poorly understood. In this study, we used microelectrodes and macroelectrodes in surgical epilepsy patients to measure the intracortical and thalamic generators of the alpha rhythm during quiet wakefulness. We first found that alpha in both visual and somatosensory cortex propagates from higher-order to lower-order areas. In posterior cortex, alpha propagates from higher-order anterosuperior areas toward the occipital pole, whereas alpha in somatosensory cortex propagates from associative regions toward primary cortex. Several analyses suggest that this cortical alpha leads pulvinar alpha, complicating prevailing theories of a thalamic pacemaker. Finally, alpha is dominated by currents and firing in supragranular cortical layers. Together, these results suggest that the alpha rhythm likely reflects short-range supragranular feedback, which propagates from higher- to lower-order cortex and cortex to thalamus. These physiological insights suggest how alpha could mediate feedback throughout the thalamocortical system.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.