This paper provides further evidence for different roles for beta vs gamma oscillations in attention. The authors used TMS to provide evidence that beta stimulation affects top-down attention whereas gamma stimulation affects bottom-up attention. This corresponds nicely with recent work in animals.

Riddle, J., Hwang, K., Cellier, D., Dhanani, S., & D’Esposito, M. (2019). Causal Evidence for the Role of Neuronal Oscillations in Top–Down and Bottom–Up AttentionJournal of cognitive neuroscience, 1-12.

For further info see:

Buschman, T.J. and Miller, E.K. (2007) Top-down versus bottom-up control of attention in the prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices. Science. 315: 1860-1862  View PDF 

Lundqvist, M., Rose, J., Herman, P, Brincat, S.L, Buschman, T.J., and Miller, E.K. (2016) Gamma and beta bursts underlie working memory.  Neuron, published online March 17, 2016. View PDF »

Lundqvist, M., Herman, P. Warden, M.R., Brincat, S.L., and Miller, E.K. (2018) Gamma and beta bursts during working memory read-out suggest roles in its volitional control. Nature Communications. 9, 394   View PDF

Here’s a review:
Miller, E.K., Lundqvist, L., and Bastos, A.M. (2018) Working Memory 2.0  Neuron,  DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.09.023  View PDF

About the Author


The Miller Lab uses experimental and theoretical approaches to study the neural basis of the high-level cognitive functions that underlie complex goal-directed behavior. ekmillerlab.mit.edu