Intra-hemispheric functional coupling of alpha rhythms is related to golfer's performance: a coherence EEG study

It has been shown that frontocentral electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha rhythms (about 10-12 Hz) were higher in amplitude in expert golfers in successful than unsuccessful putts, possibly reflecting the idea that amplitude regulation of frontocentral alpha rhythms is a physiological mechanism implied in motor control and golfer's performance (Babiloni et al., 2008). Here, we tested the ancillary hypothesis that golfer's performance is also associated to an improved coordination of cortical activity, as reflected by functional coupling of alpha rhythms across cortical regions. To this aim, between-electrodes spectral coherence was computed from spatially enhanced EEG data of the mentioned study (i.e. right handed 12 expert golfers; augmented 10-20 system; surface Laplacian estimation). Low- (about 8-10 Hz) and high-frequency (about 10-12 Hz) alpha sub-bands were considered with reference to individual alpha frequency peak. Statistical results showed that intra-hemispheric low-frequency alpha coherence in bilateral parietal-frontal (P3-F3 and P4-F4 electrodes) and parietal-central (P3-C3 and P4-C4 electrodes) was higher in amplitude in successful than unsuccessful putts (p<0.004). The same was true for intra-hemispheric high-frequency alpha coherence in bilateral parietal-frontal regions (p<0.004). These findings suggest that intra-hemispheric functional coupling of cortical alpha rhythms between "visuo-spatial" parietal area and other cortical areas is implicated in fine motor control of golfer's performance.     

Homocysteine and electroencephalographic rhythms in Alzheimer disease: a multicentric study

High plasma concentration of homocysteine is an independent risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), due to microvascular impairment and consequent neural loss [Seshadri S, Beiser A, Selhub J, Jacques PF, Rosenberg IH, D’Agostino RB, Wilson PW, Wolf PA (2002) Plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. N Engl J Med 346(7):476–483]. Is high plasma homocysteine level related to slow electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms in awake resting AD subjects, as a reflection of known relationships between cortical neural loss and these rhythms? To test this hypothesis, we enrolled 34 mild AD patients and 34 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Enrolled people were then subdivided into four sub-groups of 17 persons: MCI and AD subjects with low homocysteine level (MCI− and AD−, homocysteine level <11 μmol/l); MCI and AD subjects with high homocysteine level (MCI+ and AD+, homocysteine level ≥11 μmol/l). Resting eyes-closed EEG data were recorded. EEG rhythms of interest were delta (2–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha 1 (8–10.5 Hz), alpha 2 (10.5–13 Hz), beta 1 (13–20 Hz), and beta 2 (20–30 Hz). EEG cortical sources were estimated by low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA). Results showed that delta (frontal and temporal), theta (central, frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal), alpha 1 (parietal, occipital, and temporal), and alpha 2 (parietal and occipital) sources were stronger in magnitude in AD+ than AD− group. Instead, no difference was found between MCI− and MCI+ groups. In conclusion, high plasma homocysteine level is related to unselective increment of cortical delta, theta, and alpha rhythms in mild AD, thus unveiling possible relationships among that level, microvascular concomitants of advanced neurodegenerative processes, and synchronization mechanisms generating EEG rhythms.     

7-12 Hz high-voltage rhythmic spike discharges in rats evaluated by antiepileptic drugs and flicker stimulation

Paroxysmal 7- to 12-Hz high-voltage rhythmic spike (HVRS) or spike-wave discharges often appear in several particular strains of rats. However, functional hypotheses of these 7-12 Hz high-voltage cortical oscillations (absence seizure vs. idling mu rhythm) are inconclusive. The mu rhythm can be provoked by flicker stimulation (FS) in most people, but FS is less effective at eliciting absence epileptic activity. Therefore FS and antiepileptic drugs were used to verify the role of HVRS activity in Long-Evans rats with spontaneous HVRS discharges and Wistar rats without spontaneous HVRS discharges. The occurrence of HVRS discharges was significantly reduced by antiabsence drugs (ethosuximide, valproic acid, and diazepam) in dose-dependent manners, but high-dose carbamazepine displayed little effect. On the other hand, oscillation frequencies and durations of spontaneous HVRS discharges were not altered by FS. Under asynchronous brain activity, many FSs (>60%) elicited small-amplitude mu-rhythm-like activity in the barrel cortex concomitant with FS-related rhythms in the occipital cortex and resulted in significant augmentation of 7-12 Hz power in the parietal region. Furthermore, a large portion of FSs (>60%) revealed increase of 7-12 Hz power of the parietal cortex after ethosuximide administration (100 mg/kg ip) in Long-Evans rats. Similar FS-elicited phenomena also appeared in Wistar rats. Characteristics of FS-elicited mu-rhythm-like activities were consistent with those observed in humans, and they remarkably differed from those of spontaneous HVRS discharges. These results support the hypothesis that HVRS activity in Long-Evans rats may be an absence-like seizure activity rather than the mu rhythm.     

Golf putt outcomes are predicted by sensorimotor cerebral EEG rhythms

It is not known whether frontal cerebral rhythms of the two hemispheres are implicated in fine motor control and balance. To address this issue, electroencephalographic (EEG) and stabilometric recordings were simultaneously performed in 12 right-handed expert golfers. The subjects were asked to stand upright on a stabilometric force platform placed at a golf green simulator while playing about 100 golf putts. Balance during the putts was indexed by body sway area. Cortical activity was indexed by the power reduction in spatially enhanced alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) rhythms during movement, referred to as the pre-movement period. It was found that the body sway area displayed similar values in the successful and unsuccessful putts. In contrast, the high-frequency alpha power (about 10-12 Hz) was smaller in amplitude in the successful than in the unsuccessful putts over the frontal midline and the arm and hand region of the right primary sensorimotor area; the stronger the reduction of the alpha power, the smaller the error of the unsuccessful putts (i.e. distance from the hole). These results indicate that high-frequency alpha rhythms over associative, premotor and non-dominant primary sensorimotor areas subserve motor control and are predictive of the golfer's performance.     

The Influence of Cognitive Tasks on Different Frequencies Steady-state Visual Evoked Potentials

Previous studies suggested that there exists different neural networks for different frequency bands of steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP). What is the effect of the same cognitive task on different frequency SSVEPs? In this work, when a subject was conducting a graded memory task, a 8.3 or 20 Hz flicker was used as a background stimulation. The recorded EEGs were analyzed by the method of steady-state probe topography (SSPT), the results showed that SSVEPs under these two flicker conditions were similar to each other in the various stages of memory process, and were similar to the result of a high alpha band SSVEP as reported before. However, the SSVEP amplitude and latency in the lower frequency band is more clear and stable than that in the higher frequency band. These results suggest that the same cognitive task affects the different frequency SSVEP in a similar way, and the low frequency flicker is a better choice than the high frequency one in such as working memory study.     

Hippocampus retains the periodicity of gamma stimulation in vivo

Several behavioral state dependent oscillatory rhythms have been identified in the brain. Of these neuronal rhythms, gamma (20-70 Hz) oscillations are prominent in the activated brain and are associated with various behavioral functions ranging from sensory binding to memory. Hippocampal gamma oscillations represent a widely studied band of frequencies co-occurring with information acquisition. However, induction of specific gamma frequencies within the hippocampal neuronal network has not been satisfactorily established. Using both in vivo intracellular and extracellular recordings from anesthetized rats, we show that hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells can discharge at frequencies determined by the preceding gamma stimulation, provided that the gamma is introduced in theta cycles, as occurs in vivo. The dynamic short-term alterations in the oscillatory discharge described in this paper may serve as a coding mechanism in cortical neuronal networks.     

The effects of 10 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on resting EEG power spectrum in healthy subjects

10 Hz rTMS over the left prefrontal cortex may be useful in the treatment of depressive disorders. However, the effects of 10 Hz rTMS applied in potentially effective doses on electroencephalographic activity are not well studied. Using EEG, we aimed to investigate the neurobiological effects of the 10 Hz rTMS set of parameters currently used for depression treatment in a sample of healthy subjects. In 18 healthy subjects, either 10 Hz real rTMS or sham stimulation were given in a crossover design. Real rTMS stimulation was carried out with an intensity of 110% of motor threshold (MT) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. For the sham condition, the coil was angled over a parietotemporal position and the intensity was reduced to 90% of MT. EEG recordings were taken before and after a single rTMS session. EEG power spectrum was extracted using the complex demodulation method and changes in power were evaluated statistically. Real 10 Hz rTMS induced an overall increase in delta power. This increase prevailed throughout the sample, whereas effects on the power of the alpha, beta and theta EEG bands were highly variable. Sham stimulation had no substantial effects on the EEG power spectrum. Furthermore, no changes in EEG asymmetry were detected. Real 10 Hz rTMS applied at 2000 stimuli and 110% intensity may induce significant changes in resting EEG in healthy subjects.     

Alternative perceptual states 'apparent motion' and 'perceived simultaneity' lead to differences of induced EEG rhythms.

An investigation of the cortical response (EEG) to periodically presented stimuli producing an ambiguity between long-range apparent motion and flicker is reported. ERPs to stimulus onsets differed slightly between the two percepts, in accordance with the results of Manning et al. (1988), Selmes et al. (1997). Induced rhythms exhibited a strong increase in induced beta and gamma powers at electrode positions T7 and T8 during the perception of apparent motion in two out of 10 participants. In addition, a small overall increase in alpha power at 12-13 Hz and a decrease in delta power below 3.5 Hz during perceived motion were found. The results indicate that a variety of different neural rhythms are involved in the perception of long-range apparent motion.     

Directionality of EEG synchronization in Alzheimer's disease subjects

Is directionality of electroencephalographic (EEG) synchronization abnormal in amnesic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD)? EEG data were recorded in 64 normal elderly (Nold), 69 amnesic MCI, and 73 mild AD subjects at rest condition (closed eyes). Direction of information flux within EEG functional coupling at electrode pairs was performed by directed transfer function (DTF) at delta (2-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha 1 (8-10 Hz), alpha 2 (10-12 Hz), beta 1 (13-20 Hz), beta 2 (20-30 Hz), and gamma (30-40 Hz). Parietal to frontal direction of the information flux within EEG functional coupling was stronger in Nold than in MCI and/or AD subjects, namely for alpha and beta rhythms. In contrast, the directional flow within inter-hemispheric EEG functional coupling did not discriminate among the three groups. These results suggest that directionality of parieto-to-frontal EEG synchronization is abnormal not only in AD but also in amnesic MCI.     

Modulation of late alpha band oscillations by feedback in a hypothesis testing paradigm.

We used the electroencephalogram (EEG) to investigate whether positive and negative performance feedbacks differentially modulate late time-locked oscillatory brain activity in hypothesis testing. Ten college students serially tested hypotheses concerning a hidden rule by judging its presence or absence in triplets of digits, and revised them on the basis of an exogenous performance feedback. The EEG signal was convolved with a family of complex wavelets and induced brain potentials were extracted in the alpha range (8-13 Hz). The time-varying modulation of alpha activity time-locked to positive and negative feedback was analyzed in the 350-700 ms time-window. The results showed differential feedback-induced modulations of upper-alpha rhythms (> or =10 Hz) between 450 and 700 ms in parieto-occipital and central regions, and of lower-alpha rhythms (<10 Hz) between 350 and 450 ms in central regions. These results were interpreted in terms of differential functional roles of feedback in short-term memory and active inhibition/disinhibition of resources for subsequent hypothesis testing. Some implications for cognitive models of feedback are discussed.     

Reactivity of alpha rhythms to eyes opening is lower in athletes than non-athletes: A high-resolution EEG study

In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that compared with non-athletes, elite athletes are characterized by a reduction of reactivity of electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha rhythms (about 8–12 Hz) to eyes opening in the condition of resting state, as a possible index of spatially selective cortical activation (i.e. “neural efficiency”). EEG data (56 channels; Eb-Neuro©) were recorded in 18 elite karate athletes and 28 non-athletes during resting state eyes-closed and eyes-open conditions. The EEG data were spatially enhanced by surface Laplacian estimation. Cortical activity was indexed by task-related power decrease (TRPD), namely the alpha power during the eyes-open referenced to the eyes-closed resting condition. Low-frequency alpha TRPD (about 8–10 Hz) was lower in the elite karate athletes than in the non-athletes in frontal (p < 0.00002), central (p < 0.008) and right occipital (p < 0.02) areas. Similarly, high-frequency alpha TRPD (about 10–12 Hz) was lower in the elite karate athletes than in the non-athletes in frontal (p < 0.00009) and central (p < 0.01) areas. These results suggest that athletes' brain is characterized by reduced cortical reactivity to eyes opening in the condition of resting state, in line with the “neural efficiency” hypothesis. The present study motivates future research evaluating the extent to which this general functional brain feature is related to heritable trait or intensive visuo-motor training of elite athletes.     

Using EEG to Explore How rTMS Produces Its Effects on Behavior

A commonly held view is that, when delivered during the performance of a task, repetitive TMS (rTMS) influences behavior by producing transient “virtual lesions” in targeted tissue. However, findings of rTMS-related improvements in performance are difficult to reconcile with this assumption. With regard to the mechanism whereby rTMS influences concurrent task performance, a combined rTMS/EEG study conducted in our lab has revealed a complex set of relations between rTMS, EEG activity, and behavioral performance, with the effects of rTMS on power in the alpha band and on alpha:gamma phase synchrony each predicting its effect on behavior. These findings suggest that rTMS influences performance by biasing endogenous task-related oscillatory dynamics, rather than creating a “virtual lesion”. To further differentiate these two alternatives, in the present study we compared the effects of 10 Hz rTMS on neural activity with the results of an experiment in which rTMS was replaced with 10 Hz luminance flicker. We reasoned that 10 Hz flicker would produce widespread entrainment of neural activity to the flicker frequency, and comparison of these EEG results with those from the rTMS study would shed light on whether the latter also reflected entrainment to an exogenous stimulus. Results revealed pronounced evidence for “entrainment noise” produced by 10 Hz flicker—increased oscillatory power and inter-trial coherence (ITC) at the driving frequency, and increased alpha:gamma phase synchronization—that were nonetheless largely uncorrelated with behavior. This contrasts markedly with 10-Hz rTMS, for which the only evidence for stimulation-induced noise, elevated ITC at 30 Hz, differed qualitatively from the flicker results. Simultaneous recording of the EEG thus offers an important means of directly testing assumptions about how rTMS exerts its effects on behavior.     

Cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic alpha rhythms deteriorate across time in subjects with amnesic mild cognitive impairment

Cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms are abnormal in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Here, we tested the hypothesis that these sources in amnesic MCI subjects further deteriorate over 1 year. To this aim, the resting state eyes-closed EEG data were recorded in 54 MCI subjects at baseline (Mini Mental State Examination I = 26.9; standard error [SE], 0.2) and at approximately 1-year follow-up (13.8 months; SE, 0.5; Mini Mental State Examination II = 25.8; SE, 0.2). As a control, EEG recordings were also performed in 45 normal elderly and in 50 mild Alzheimer's disease subjects. EEG rhythms of interest were delta (2–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha1 (8–10.5 Hz), alpha2 (10.5–13 Hz), beta1 (13–20 Hz), and beta2 (20–30 Hz). Cortical EEG sources were estimated using low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography. Compared with the normal elderly and mild Alzheimer's disease subjects, the MCI subjects were characterized by an intermediate power of posterior alpha1 sources. In the MCI subjects, the follow-up EEG recordings showed a decreased power of posterior alpha1 and alpha2 sources. These results suggest that the resting state EEG alpha sources were sensitive—at least at the group level—to the cognitive decline occurring in the amnesic MCI group over 1 year, and might represent cost-effective, noninvasive and widely available markers to follow amnesic MCI populations in large clinical trials.     

基于不同闪烁频率光刺激的脑电压变化研究

目的：脑电信号是大量神经元电活动在大脑头皮表面产生的电位总和,可综合反映大脑内部功能状态和活跃程度。当人体受到外界刺激时,神经系统产生一系列复杂的生物电活动,最终反映为脑电信号。本文使用不同闪烁频率光为刺激源,对光刺激前后脑电信号时域和频域的变化特性进行分析,为利用外刺激调制脑电频率提供新的实验依据。方法：使用同一光源,分别改变其闪烁频率对受试者眼睛进行刺激,利用脑立方移动版采集不同闪烁频率光刺激下的脑电信号,记录并分析脑电信号电位幅值,及其成份δ波（1 Hz~3 Hz）、θ波（4 Hz~7 Hz）、α波（8 Hz~13 Hz）和β波（14Hz~30Hz）能量的变化情况。结果：随着光闪烁频率的增高,脑电压幅度均值和各频段能量先逐渐增大后减小,脑电幅值和各频段能量均在光闪烁频率为5 Hz时达到最大。结论：不同闪烁频率光刺激对脑电压的变化具有显著性影响：在一定阈值之下,脑电压与光闪烁频率变化一致;超过阈值后,趋势相反。该结论有助于探索脑电信号在外刺激作用下的变化规律,为利用外刺激治疗脑部疾病的方式提供了参考价值。     

Mobile phone emission increases inter-hemispheric functional coupling of electroencephalographic alpha rhythms in epileptic patients

It has been reported that GSM electromagnetic fields (GSM-EMFs) of mobile phones modulate - after a prolonged exposure - inter-hemispheric synchronization of temporal and frontal resting electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms in normal young and elderly subjects (Vecchio et al., 2007, 2010). Here we tested the hypothesis that this can be even more evident in epileptic patients, who typically suffer from abnormal mechanisms governing synchronization of rhythmic firing of cortical neurons. Eyes-closed resting EEG data were recorded in ten patients affected by focal epilepsy in real and sham exposure conditions. These data were compared with those obtained from 15 age-matched normal subjects of the previous reference studies. The GSM device was turned on (45 min) in the "GSM" condition and was turned off (45 min) in the other condition ("sham"). The mobile phone was always positioned on the left side in both patients and control subjects. Spectral coherence evaluated the inter-hemispheric synchronization of EEG rhythms at the following frequency bands: delta (about 2-4 Hz), theta (about 4-6 Hz), alpha1 (about 6-8 Hz), alpha2 (about 8-10 Hz), and alpha3 (about 10-12 Hz). The effects on the patients were investigated comparing the inter-hemispheric EEG coherence in the epileptic patients with the control group of subjects evaluated in the previous reference studies. Compared with the control subjects, epileptic patients showed a statistically significant higher inter-hemispheric coherence of temporal and frontal alpha rhythms (about 8-12 Hz) in the GSM than "Sham" condition. These results suggest that GSM-EMFs of mobile phone may affect inter-hemispheric synchronization of the dominant (alpha) EEG rhythms in epileptic patients. If confirmed by future studies on a larger group of epilepsy patients, the modulation of the inter-hemispheric alpha coherence due to the GSM-EMFs could have clinical implications and be related to changes in cognitive-motor function.     

Increased frontal phase-locking of event-related alpha oscillations during task processing.

Recent findings substantiate the view that electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha rhythm (7-13 Hz) is functionally involved in cognitive stimulus processing. Our previous results have shown that enhanced alpha responses to auditory task stimuli can be well synchronized with stimulus until 800-1000 ms. The present study analyzed the effect of perceptual uncertainty and difficulty in decision making on event-related alpha oscillations in single auditory event-related brain potentials (ERPs). EEG was recorded from Fz, Cz and Pz electrodes in 10 subjects participating in two experimental sessions, in which auditory stimuli with equal physical parameters were presented under passive and task instructions. Separate measurements of single alpha response amplitude and phase-locking were performed and statistically analyzed for consecutive time windows in the post-stimulus epoch. Major results show that, during the cognitive task, the phase-locking of alpha oscillations at the frontal site is significantly increased in the time window of 500-1000 ms after stimulation. Thus, the involvement of enhanced and synchronized frontal alpha activity in higher brain processes is strongly emphasized.     

A frequency band analysis of two-year-olds' memory processes

Research on the functional meaning of EEG frequency bands during memory processing has only examined two developmental periods: infancy and from late childhood to adulthood. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in EEG power for three toddler EEG frequency bands (3-5Hz, 6-9Hz, 10-12Hz) during a verbal recall task. To this end, we asked three questions: (a) Which frequency band(s) discriminate baseline from memory processing?; (b) Which frequency band(s) differentiate between memory encoding and retrieval processes?; (c) Which frequency band(s) distinguish toddlers with high and low verbal recall performance? Analysis of 2-year-olds' (n=79) power values revealed that all three frequency bands differentiated the retrieval and encoding phases from the baseline phase; however, the particular regions that exhibited this dissociation varied. Retrieval-related increases in 3-5Hz (theta) power were widespread. Only the 3-5Hz and 6-9Hz bands distinguished encoding and retrieval processes; retrieval power values were higher than encoding power values. High and low verbal recall performers were discriminated by all frequency bands; high performers had greater power values than low performers. Thus, the 3-5Hz (theta) and 6-9Hz (alpha) bands were most informative about 2-year-olds' memory processes. Theta and alpha rhythms are critical to memory processes during late childhood and adulthood, and our findings provide initial evidence that these rhythms are also intricately linked to memory processing during toddlerhood. These findings are discussed in relation to behavioral changes in memory processes.     

Eating breakfast enhances the efficiency of neural networks engaged during mental arithmetic in school-aged children

To determine the influence of a morning meal on complex mental functions in children (8-11 y), time-frequency analyses were applied to electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded while children solved simple addition problems after an overnight fast and again after having either eaten or skipped breakfast. Power of low frequency EEG activity [2 Hertz (Hz) bands in the 2-12 Hz range] was determined from recordings over frontal and parietal brain regions associated with mathematical thinking during mental calculation of correctly answered problems. Analyses were adjusted for background variables known to influence or reflect the development of mathematical skills, i.e., age and measures of math competence and math fluency. Relative to fed children, those who continued to fast showed greater power increases in upper theta (6-8 Hz) and both alpha bands (8-10 Hz; 10-12 Hz) across sites. Increased theta suggests greater demands on working memory. Increased alpha may facilitate task-essential activity by suppressing non-task-essential activity. Fasting children also had greater delta (2-4 Hz) and greater lower-theta (4-6 Hz) power in left frontal recordings-indicating a region-specific emphasis on both working memory for mental calculation (theta) and activation of processes that suppress interfering activity (delta). Fed children also showed a significant increase in correct responses while children who continued to fast did not. Taken together the findings suggest that neural network activity involved in processing numerical information is functionally enhanced and performance is improved in children who have eaten breakfast, whereas greater mental effort is required for this mathematical thinking in children who skip breakfast.     

EEG sigma and slow‐wave activity during NREM sleep correlate with overnight declarative and procedural memory consolidation

Previous studies suggest that sleep‐specific brain activity patterns such as sleep spindles and electroencephalographic slow‐wave activity contribute to the consolidation of novel memories. The generation of both sleep spindles and slow‐wave activity relies on synchronized oscillations in a thalamo‐cortical network that might be implicated in synaptic strengthening (spindles) and downscaling (slow‐wave activity) during sleep. This study further examined the association between electroencephalographic power during non‐rapid eye movement sleep in the spindle (sigma, 12–16 Hz) and slow‐wave frequency range (0.1–3.5 Hz) and overnight memory consolidation in 20 healthy subjects (10 men, 27.1 ± 4.6 years). We found that both electroencephalographic sigma power and slow‐wave activity were positively correlated with the pre–post‐sleep consolidation of declarative (word list) and procedural (mirror‐tracing) memories. These results, although only correlative in nature, are consistent with the view that processes of synaptic strengthening (sleep spindles) and synaptic downscaling (slow‐wave activity) might act in concert to promote synaptic plasticity and the consolidation of both declarative and procedural memories during sleep.     

Evaluating the feasibility of the steady‐state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) to study temporal attention

Improvements in perceptual performance can be obtained when events in the environment are temporally predictable—and temporal predictability improves attention and sensory processing. The amplitude of the steady‐state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) has been shown to correlate with attention paid to a flickering stimulus even if the flickering stimulus is irrelevant for the task. However, to our knowledge, the validity of the SSVEP to study temporal attention has not been established. Therefore, we designed an SSVEP temporal attention task to evaluate whether the SSVEP and its temporal dynamics can be used to study temporal attention. We used a forced‐choice perceptual detection task while presenting task‐irrelevant visual flicker at alpha (10 Hz) and two surrounding frequencies (6 or 15 Hz). Temporal predictability was manipulated by having the interstimulus intervals (ISI) be constant or variable. Behavioral results replicated previous studies confirming the benefits of temporal expectations on performance for trials with constant ISI. EEG analyses revealed robust SSVEP amplitudes for all flicker frequencies, although a main effect of temporal expectations on SSVEP amplitude was not significant. Additional analyses revealed temporal predictability‐related modulations of SSVEP amplitude at 10 Hz and its second harmonic (20 Hz). The effect of temporal predictability was also observed for the 6 Hz flicker, but not for 15 Hz for any ISI condition. These results provide some evidence for the feasibility of the SSVEP technique to study temporal attention for stimuli with flicker frequencies around the alpha band.