Alpha-band oscillations are the dominant brain oscillations in humans and are associated with inhibition and timing, which are closely linked to two fundamental functions of attention: suppression and selection. These functions enable controlled access to stored information and semantic orientation, allowing individuals to be consciously oriented in time, space, and context. Alpha-band oscillations reflect a basic cognitive process and play a key role in the coalescence of brain activity across different frequencies. Alpha-band activity is particularly interesting because it is the only frequency domain (except for slow beta) that responds to stimuli or task demands with changes in amplitude/power, termed event-related desynchronization (ERD) and synchronization (ERS). ERD reflects a decrease in amplitude, while ERS reflects an increase. ERD is associated with cortical activation, while ERS reflects inhibition. Recent studies suggest that alpha ERS reflects inhibition, while ERD reflects release from inhibition. Alpha phase is crucial for understanding the timing of inhibition and is closely related to the inhibition timing hypothesis. The phase of alpha oscillations reflects rhythmic changes, with inhibition occurring between minimal and maximal inhibition. This timing is functionally related to the timing of neuronal activation processes. Alpha-band oscillations are associated with attention, which has two fundamental functions: filtering (suppression and selection) and blocking information processing. Attention interacts closely with perception and is subject to capacity limits of the attentional buffer, which is a pre-activated region of the knowledge system (KS). The attentional buffer is not directly related to working memory (WM) and should not be confused with short-term memory or rehearsal. Alpha-band activity is associated with certain types of attention, such as anticipatory attention and temporal attention. Anticipatory attention is related to good discrimination performance and is reflected in prestimulus ERD. Temporal attention is related to the phase of alpha-band activity and is crucial for the attentional blink (AB) phenomenon, which is an example of temporal attention. The relationship between alpha-band activity and attention is not limited to amplitude changes but also includes phase changes. Alpha phase is crucial for the AB phenomenon, which is characterized by a reduced ability to report a second target after identifying a first target in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). The phase angle of alpha-band activity at stimulus onset predicts target detection performance. The attentional buffer, anticipatory ERD, and resting alpha power are closely related to the inhibitory function of alpha-band activity. Large resting power may reflect a person's ability to build up a highly efficient filter. In target detection and discrimination tasks, the filter operates as anticipatory attention, which can be understood as an 'attentional buffer' that keeps target information activated. Alpha-band oscillations are associated with semantic orientation, access to the knowledge system (KS), and the P1 response. Access to the KS may be an event-related or continuous process, with alpha-band activity reflecting continuous 'semantic orientation'. The P1 response reflects early stimulus categorization and theAlpha-band oscillations are the dominant brain oscillations in humans and are associated with inhibition and timing, which are closely linked to two fundamental functions of attention: suppression and selection. These functions enable controlled access to stored information and semantic orientation, allowing individuals to be consciously oriented in time, space, and context. Alpha-band oscillations reflect a basic cognitive process and play a key role in the coalescence of brain activity across different frequencies. Alpha-band activity is particularly interesting because it is the only frequency domain (except for slow beta) that responds to stimuli or task demands with changes in amplitude/power, termed event-related desynchronization (ERD) and synchronization (ERS). ERD reflects a decrease in amplitude, while ERS reflects an increase. ERD is associated with cortical activation, while ERS reflects inhibition. Recent studies suggest that alpha ERS reflects inhibition, while ERD reflects release from inhibition. Alpha phase is crucial for understanding the timing of inhibition and is closely related to the inhibition timing hypothesis. The phase of alpha oscillations reflects rhythmic changes, with inhibition occurring between minimal and maximal inhibition. This timing is functionally related to the timing of neuronal activation processes. Alpha-band oscillations are associated with attention, which has two fundamental functions: filtering (suppression and selection) and blocking information processing. Attention interacts closely with perception and is subject to capacity limits of the attentional buffer, which is a pre-activated region of the knowledge system (KS). The attentional buffer is not directly related to working memory (WM) and should not be confused with short-term memory or rehearsal. Alpha-band activity is associated with certain types of attention, such as anticipatory attention and temporal attention. Anticipatory attention is related to good discrimination performance and is reflected in prestimulus ERD. Temporal attention is related to the phase of alpha-band activity and is crucial for the attentional blink (AB) phenomenon, which is an example of temporal attention. The relationship between alpha-band activity and attention is not limited to amplitude changes but also includes phase changes. Alpha phase is crucial for the AB phenomenon, which is characterized by a reduced ability to report a second target after identifying a first target in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). The phase angle of alpha-band activity at stimulus onset predicts target detection performance. The attentional buffer, anticipatory ERD, and resting alpha power are closely related to the inhibitory function of alpha-band activity. Large resting power may reflect a person's ability to build up a highly efficient filter. In target detection and discrimination tasks, the filter operates as anticipatory attention, which can be understood as an 'attentional buffer' that keeps target information activated. Alpha-band oscillations are associated with semantic orientation, access to the knowledge system (KS), and the P1 response. Access to the KS may be an event-related or continuous process, with alpha-band activity reflecting continuous 'semantic orientation'. The P1 response reflects early stimulus categorization and the