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Decoding target validity in probabilistic cueing conditions using ERPs and alpha oscillations

Poster Session D - Monday, March 9, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Grace Lim¹, Lee A. Holcomb¹, Sreenivasan Meyyappan¹, Lana A. Abrera¹, George R. Mangun¹; ¹University of California, Davis

Probabilistic cueing biases spatial attention toward likely target locations, with high cue validity enhancing sensory processing. This enhanced processing is reflected by amplified early event-related potentials (ERPs) and strengthened anticipatory space-based effects in alpha-band (8–12 Hz) activity. Previous studies have used multivariate pattern classification to decode target location and validity, measuring both ERPs and alpha-band activity across cueing paradigms (instructional vs probabilistic), and found that higher decoding accuracy is associated with a stronger magnitude of target processing and faster reaction times. However, these studies only examined single cueing conditions, preventing direct comparison across cueing probabilities. Therefore, in the present study we have performed multivariate pattern classification on ERPs and alpha activity to decode target validity across two probabilistic cueing (Posner) paradigms. In Experiment 1 (80/20 condition), an arrow cue predicted the target location (left or right) with 80% validity; in Experiment 2 (50/50 condition), target validity was 50%. Using the alpha-based decoder, in the 80/20 condition, decoding accuracy rose significantly above chance 200 ms before target onset and persisted until 1200 ms after onset, p = .008, cluster-corrected, n = 7, whereas in the 50/50 condition, significance only emerged from around 150 ms to 250ms post-target. Ongoing analyses will apply the same decoding procedure to the same EEG datasets using multichannel ERPs. By contrasting 80/20 vs 50/50 probabilistic cueing with decoding, we show that the onset and duration of alpha-band signals distinguishing cued-target validity are modulated by cue reliability, providing a temporal marker of when expectations shape attentional control.

Topic Area: ATTENTION: Spatial