The scalp-recorded auditory steady-state response (ASSR) is a periodically evoked potential in response to the stimulation with the acoustical property in the same period. The ASSR can be readily induced in comparison with transient responses for specific conditions. The clinical utility of ASSR may be unjustified for the ambiguity of the genesis. With the advance of relevant research, it is considered that the main generation hypotheses of the ASSR are conceived to be pertinent with the linear superposition or neural entrainment mechanism. Based on current findings and our contributions in this field, we introduce recent progresses of the two mechanisms with comments, and suggest the benefit of the rapid stimulation technology in this regard.
Selective attention promotes the perception of brain to outside world and coordinates the allocation of limited brain resources. It is a cognitive process which relies on the neural activities of attention-related brain network. As one of the important forms of brain activities, neural oscillations are closely related to selective attention. In recent years, the relationship between selective attention and neural oscillations has become a hot issue. The new method that using external rhythmic stimuli to influence neural oscillations, i.e., neural entrainment, provides a promising approach to investigate the relationship between selective attention and neural oscillations. Moreover, it provides a new method to diagnose and even to treat the attention dysfunction. This paper reviewed the research status on the relationship between selective attention and neural oscillations, and focused on the application prospects of neural entrainment in revealing this relationship and diagnosing, even treating the attention dysfunction.