Schedule of Events | Search Abstracts | Invited Symposia | Symposia | Poster Sessions | Data Blitz

Exploring the Cognitive Role of the Coupling Between Alpha Power and Autonomic Rhythms During Task Performance

Poster Session E - Monday, March 9, 2026, 2:30 – 4:30 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Yuting Xu¹ (), Ayumu Yamashita¹, Kyuto Uno¹, Kaoru Amano¹; ¹The University of Tokyo

A recent framework proposes that the brain and body form a dynamic system that modulates coupling mechanisms to optimize adaptation to changing environments. Previous studies have shown that alpha power relates to attention fluctuations during task performance, while others demonstrate alpha power coupling with phases of autonomic nervous system (ANS) rhythms—gastric activity, heart rate variability (HRV), and respiration—during the resting state, each reported in separate investigations. However, trivariate relationships among alpha power, ANS rhythms, and attention fluctuations remain unexplored. Given that alpha oscillations comprise multiple components across brain regions, this study aims to clarify which alpha components couple with ANS rhythms and associate with attention fluctuations, using magnetoencephalography (MEG) for high spatial resolution. MEG, respiration, electrogastrogram (EGG), and electrocardiogram (ECG) were recorded during six 5-minute oddball task blocks. Two block types—visual and auditory—were included, in which visual or auditory stimuli were presented at 3Hz. Participants were instructed to continuously attend to them and respond to infrequent target stimuli. We examined alpha–ANS coupling by calculating the modulation index between alpha power and ANS phases across MEG sensors. Strongest effects (Cohen’s d) were observed in right-temporal sensors for alpha–EGG coupling and in parietal sensors for alpha–high-frequency HRV and alpha–respiration coupling during task performance, consistent with prior alpha–ANS findings during the resting state. Furthermore, these sensors also exhibited higher alpha power preceding missed targets compared to hits, suggesting that alpha components coupled with ANS rhythms may contribute to attention fluctuations during cognitive task performance.

Topic Area: ATTENTION: Other