Human cortical traveling waves: dynamical properties and correlations with responses.

The spatiotemporal behavior of human EEG oscillations is investigated. Traveling waves in the alpha and theta ranges are found to be common in both prestimulus and poststimulus EEG activity. The dynamical properties of these waves, including their speeds, directions, and durations, are systematically characterized for the first time, and the results show that there are significant changes of prestimulus spontaneous waves in the presence of an external stimulus.