Attentional sampling of visual and auditory objects is captured by theta-modulated neural activity.

Recent evidence suggests that visual attention alternately samples two behaviorally relevant objects at approximately 4Hz, rhythmically shifting between the objects. Whether similar attentional rhythms exist in other sensory modalities, however, is not yet clear. We therefore adapted and extended an established paradigm to investigate visual and potential auditory attentional rhythms, as well as possible interactions, on both a behavioral (detection performance, N=33) and a neural level (EEG, N=18). The results during unimodal attention demonstrate that both visual- and auditory-target detection fluctuate at frequencies of approximately 4-8Hz, confirming that attentional rhythms are not specific to visual processing. The EEG recordings provided evidence of oscillatory activity that underlies these behavioral effects. At right and left occipital EEG electrodes, we detected counter-phasic theta-band activity (4-8Hz), mirroring behavioral evidence of alternating sampling between the objects presented right and left of central fixation, respectively. Similarly, alpha-band activity as a signature of relatively suppressed sensory encoding, showed a theta-rhythmic, counter-phasic change in power. Moreover, these theta-rhythmic changes in alpha power were predictive of behavioral performance in both sensory modalities. Overall, the present findings provide a new perspective on the multimodal rhythmicity of attention.