Recent research suggests that environmental sampling is a fundamentally rhythmic process (Benedetto et al., 2019; Fiebelkorn Kastner, 2019; Schroeder et al., 2010). In primates, both attention-related sampling and exploratory eye movements are seemingly shaped by theta-band activity (3-8 Hz) in the large-scale network that directs both spatial attention and goal-directed eye movements (i.e., the ‘‘attention network’’). The Rhythmic Theory of Attention synthesizes such evidence from behavioral and neurophysiological studies to propose that spatial attention is characterized by two alternating attentional states, with the first state promoting attention-related sampling (i.e., sensory functions of the attention network) and the second state promoting attentional shifting and/or eye movements (i.e., motor functions of the attention network; Fiebelkorn Kastner, 2019). Thetarhythmic sampling might thus provide a critical balance between attention-r elated sampling and shifting functions, preventing us from becoming overly focused on any single location (or object) in the environment.
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