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The local field potential (LFP) contains rich information about activity in local neuronal populations. However, it has been challenging to establish direct links between LFP modulations and task-relevant behavior or cognitive processes, such as attention. We sought to determine whether LFP amplitude or phase modulations are predictive of the allocation of visual spatial attention. LFPs were recorded simultaneously in multiple early visual brain structures of alert macaque monkeys performing attention-demanding detection and discrimination tasks. Attention directed toward the receptive field of recorded neurons generated systematically larger phase shifts in high-beta- and low-gamma-frequency LFPs compared with LFP phase shifts on trials in which attention was directed away from the receptive field. This attention-mediated temporal advance corresponded to ~10 ms. LFP phase shifts also correlated with reaction times when monkeys were engaged in the tasks. Importantly, attentional modulation of LFP phase was consistent across monkeys, tasks, visual brain structures, and cortical layers. In contrast, attentional modulation of LFP amplitude varied across frequency bands, visual structures/layers, and tasks. Because LFP phase shifts were robust, consistent, and predictive of spatial attention, they could serve as a reliable marker for attention signals in the brain. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Local field potentials (LFPs) reflect the activity of spatially localized populations of neurons. Whether alterations in LFP activity are indicative of cognitive processes, such as attention, is unclear. We found that shifts in the phase of LFPs measured in multiple visual brain areas reliably predicted the focus of spatial attention. LFP phase shifts could therefore serve as a marker for behaviorally relevant attention signals in the brain.

Correlations and inferred causal interactions among local field potentials (LFPs) simultaneously recorded in distinct visual brain areas can provide insight into how visual and cognitive signals are communicated between neuronal populations. Based on the known anatomical connectivity of hierarchically organized visual cortical areas and electrophysiological measurements of LFP interactions, a framework for interareal frequency-specific communication has emerged. Our goals were to test the predictions of this framework in the context of the early visual pathways and to understand how attention modulates communication between the visual thalamus and primary visual cortex. We recorded LFPs simultaneously in retinotopically aligned regions of the visual thalamus and primary visual cortex in alert and behaving macaque monkeys trained on a contrast-change detection task requiring covert shifts in visual spatial attention. Coherence and Granger-causal interactions among early visual circuits varied dynamically over different trial periods. Attention significantly enhanced alpha-, beta-, and gamma-frequency interactions, often in a manner consistent with the known anatomy of early visual circuits. However, attentional modulation of communication among early visual circuits was not consistent with a simple static framework in which distinct frequency bands convey directed inputs. Instead, neuronal network interactions in early visual circuits were flexible and dynamic, perhaps reflecting task-related shifts in attention. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Attention alters the way we perceive the visual world. For example, attention can modulate how visual information is communicated between the thalamus and cortex. We recorded local field potentials simultaneously in the visual thalamus and cortex to quantify the impact of attention on visual information communication. We found that attentional modulation of visual information communication was not static, but dynamic over the time course of trials.