EEG anticipatory activity depends on sensory modality

Abstract

AbstractPerceptual anticipation is known to have an impact on the reaction time of decisions. While anticipatory brain activity patterns have been identified in human EEG, in particular in the form of Contingent-Negative Variations (CNV), the single-trial neural signature of anticipation remains unexplored. Similarly, past studies have underlined an effect of pre-stimulus alpha-band activity on reaction times. Still, it remains unknown whether this activity is stimulus-specific or rather acts as a general indicator of readiness. This study aimed to decipher whether human participants expected a visual or an auditory stimulus at the single-trial level in both cued and uncued trials. We show that the CNV entails information about the expected upcoming stimulus, and the information content can be extracted at the single-trial level. Behavioral analyses additionally indicate the correct classification of uncued trials.