Back موجة ألفا Arabic ཨལ་ཕ་རླབས། Tibetan Elektroenzephalografie#Alpha-Wellen German Ondas alfa Spanish امواج آلفا Persian Rythme alpha French Ալֆա-ռիթմ Armenian Ritmo alfa Italian アルファ波 Japanese 알파파 Korean

Alpha wave

Not to be confused with Alpha particle.
For the 3D platform video game, see Alpha Waves.
Alpha waves

Alpha waves, or the alpha rhythm, are neural oscillations in the frequency range of 8–12 Hz[1][2] likely originating from the synchronous and coherent (in phase or constructive) neocortical neuronal electrical activity possibly involving thalamic pacemaker cells. Historically, they are also called "Berger's waves" after Hans Berger, who first described them when he invented the EEG in 1924.[3]

Alpha waves are one type of brain waves detected by electrophysiological methods, e.g., electroencephalography (EEG) or magnetoencephalography (MEG), and can be quantified using power spectra and time-frequency representations of power[4] like quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG). They are predominantly recorded over parieto-occipital brain and were the earliest brain rhythm recorded in humans.[5] Alpha waves can be observed during relaxed wakefulness, especially when there is no mental activity. During the eyes-closed condition, alpha waves are prominent at parietal locations. Attentional processing or cognitive tasks attenuate (reduce) the alpha waves.[6]

Historically, alpha waves were thought to represent the brain in an idle state as they are strongest during rest and quiet wakefulness.[citation needed] More recently it was found the alpha oscillations increase in demanding task not requiring visual input. In particular, alpha oscillations increase during maintenance (retention) of visually presented information.[7][8] These findings resulted in the notion that alpha oscillations inhibit areas of the cortex not in use,[9] and they play an active role in network coordination and communication.[10] Whether they are inhibitory or play an active role in attention may link to their direction of propagation. Possibly top-down propagating waves are inhibitory whereas forward propagating waves reflect visual bottom-up attentional processes,[11] but this is still an area of active research.

  1. ^ Shaw JC, Shaw JC (2003). The brain's alpha rhythms and the mind : a review of classical and modern studies of the alpha rhythm component of the electroencephalogram with commentaries on associated neuroscience and neuropsychology. Amsterdam Heidelberg: Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-444-51397-7.
  2. ^ Schomer DL, Niedermeyer E, Lopes da Silva FH, eds. (2011). Niedermeyer's electroencephalography: basic principles, clinical applications, and related fields (6th ed.). Philadelphia, Pa. London: Wolters Kluwer, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-0-7817-8942-4.
  3. ^ İnce R, Adanır SS, Sevmez F (September 2021). "The inventor of electroencephalography (EEG): Hans Berger (1873-1941)". Child's Nervous System. 37 (9): 2723–2724. doi:10.1007/s00381-020-04564-z. PMID 32140776.
  4. ^ Percival DB, Walden AT (2002). Spectral analysis for physical applications: multitaper and conventional univariate techniques (Digital printing ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr. ISBN 978-0-521-43541-3.
  5. ^ Berger H (1929-12-01). "Über das Elektrenkephalogramm des Menschen". Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten (in German). 87 (1): 527–570. doi:10.1007/BF01797193. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-002A-5DE0-7. ISSN 1433-8491. S2CID 10835361.
  6. ^ Amin HU, Malik AS (2017). "1.2.3 Alpha Waves (8-13Hz)". Designing EEG Experiments for Studying the Brain (PDF). Elsevier (published 2017-05-25). pp. 3–4. ISBN 9780128111413. Archived from the original on 2025-01-09. Retrieved 2025-01-09. Alpha waves can be observed spontaneously in normal adults during wakefulness and in relaxed state, especially when there is no mental activity. During the eyes-closed condition, alpha waves are prominent at parietal locations. Attentional processing or cognitive tasks attenuate the alpha waves. Alpha waves are subdivided into lower alpha and upper alpha. It has been observed that alpha activity changes with load during retention of working memory. In addition, individual alpha peak frequency is an indicator of general intelligence factor (also known as g factor).
  7. ^ Klimesch W, Doppelmayr M, Schwaiger J, Auinger P, Winkler T (March 1999). "'Paradoxical' alpha synchronization in a memory task". Cognitive Brain Research. 7 (4): 493–501. doi:10.1016/S0926-6410(98)00056-1.
  8. ^ Jensen O (2002-08-01). "Oscillations in the Alpha Band (9-12 Hz) Increase with Memory Load during Retention in a Short-term Memory Task". Cerebral Cortex. 12 (8): 877–882. doi:10.1093/cercor/12.8.877.
  9. ^ Jensen O, Mazaheri A (2010). "Shaping functional architecture by oscillatory alpha activity: gating by inhibition". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 4 (186): 186. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2010.00186. PMC 2990626. PMID 21119777.
  10. ^ Palva S, Palva JM (April 2007). "New vistas for alpha-frequency band oscillations". Trends in Neurosciences. 30 (4): 150–158. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2007.02.001. PMID 17307258. S2CID 9156592.
  11. ^ Alamia A, Terral L, D'ambra MR, VanRullen R (March 2023). "Distinct roles of forward and backward alpha-band waves in spatial visual attention". eLife. 12. doi:10.7554/elife.85035. PMC 10059684. PMID 36876909.
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