Fig. 2.

Illustrating three different mechanisms that might underlie the relationship between the timing of sensory input and phase-related changes in neural excitability. a) a classical ‘top-down’ entrainment model, top-down modulation changes the phase of the underlying neuronal activity to align the neuronal oscillatory activity with the attended-to sensory stream; b) top-down modulation in anticipation to aperiodic stimuli; c) an illustration of the ‘dumb’ oscillator mechanism described in Section 5.2.2. An isochronous auditory cue facilitates perceptual processing of a subsequent target in cases where the target in presented in-phase with the previous auditory cue.