Context-specific control over the neural dynamics of temporal attention by the human cerebellum

Abstract

Physiological methods have identified a number of signatures of temporal prediction, a core component of attention. While the underlying neural dynamics have been linked to activity within cortico-striatal networks, recent work has shown that the behavioral benefits of temporal prediction rely on the cerebellum. Here, we examine the involvement of the human cerebellum in the generation and/or temporal adjustment of anticipatory neural dynamics, measuring scalp electroencephalography in individuals with cerebellar degeneration. When the temporal prediction relied on an interval representation, duration-dependent adjustments were impaired in the cerebellar group compared to matched controls. This impairment was evident in ramping activity, beta-band power, and phase locking of delta-band activity. These same neural adjustments were preserved when the prediction relied on a rhythmic stream. Thus, the cerebellum has a context-specific causal role in the adjustment of anticipatory neural dynamics of temporal prediction, providing the requisite modulation to optimize behavior.

The human cerebellum is essential for modulating perceptual sensitivity based on temporal expectations

“…Our findings extend this functional specificity to the attentional domain, pointing to a generalized role for the cerebellum in interval timing, at in the sub-second range. Notably, while inferences from single dissociations such as that observed in the present study can be limited by concerns about differences in task difficulty, this concern is alleviated by the comparable benefits observed in healthy controls from interval- and rhythmbased cues 10,11,21 (also observed in current dataset: Cue Validity X Task interaction within the Control group, F(1,11)=0.81, p=0.39, =0.07).…”

“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted January 19, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.15.426903 doi: bioRxiv preprint 10 alleviated by the comparable benefits observed in healthy controls from interval-and rhythmbased cues 10,11,19 (also observed in current dataset: Cue Validity X Task interaction within the Control group, F(1,11)=0.81, p=0.39, 2 =0.07).…”

“…In addition to manipulating the validity of the temporal cue, we also varied the manner in which this information was presented. In our previous work 10,11 , we found that the cerebellar involvement was limited to when temporal anticipation required encoding and recalling an isolated interval, but not when temporal anticipation could emerge via synchronization with a stream of rhythmic sensory events. We employ a similar manipulation in the present study, comparing attentional benefits from interval and rhythmic temporal cues ( Figure 1B).…”

“…Second, selective contributions of the cerebellum in interval-based but not rhythm-based timing have been observed in multiple timing domains, including duration judgments, timed movement, and timed motor preparation 10,11,34,35 . Our findings extend this functional specificity to the attentional domain, pointing to a generalized role for the cerebellum in interval timing, at in the sub-second range.…”

“…Recently, we reported that individuals with cerebellar degeneration (CD) fail to exhibit reaction time benefits from temporal cues on a simple detection task 10,11 . These findings implicate the cerebellum in temporal preparation, and raise the possibility that it is involved in temporal control of attention to proactively modulate perception.…”