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Tansey R, Graff K, Rai S, Merrikh D, Godfrey KJ, Vanderwal T, Bray S. Development of human visual cortical function: A scoping review of task- and naturalistic-fMRI studies through the interactive specialization and maturational frameworks. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 162:105729. [PMID: 38763178 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Revised: 05/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
Overarching theories such as the interactive specialization and maturational frameworks have been proposed to describe human functional brain development. However, these frameworks have not yet been systematically examined across the fMRI literature. Visual processing is one of the most well-studied fields in neuroimaging, and research in this area has recently expanded to include naturalistic paradigms that facilitate study in younger age ranges, allowing for an in-depth critical appraisal of these frameworks across childhood. To this end, we conducted a scoping review of 94 developmental visual fMRI studies, including both traditional experimental task and naturalistic studies, across multiple sub-domains (early visual processing, category-specific higher order processing, naturalistic visual processing). We found that across domains, many studies reported progressive development, but few studies describe regressive or emergent changes necessary to fit the maturational or interactive specialization frameworks. Our findings suggest a need for the expansion of developmental frameworks and clearer reporting of both progressive and regressive changes, along with well-powered, longitudinal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryann Tansey
- Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
| | - Kirk Graff
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Shefali Rai
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Daria Merrikh
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Kate J Godfrey
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Tamara Vanderwal
- Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Signe Bray
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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2
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Kang J, Park S. Combined representation of visual features in the scene-selective cortex. Behav Brain Res 2024; 471:115110. [PMID: 38871131 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
Visual features of separable dimensions conjoin to represent an integrated entity. We investigated how visual features bind to form a complex visual scene. Specifically, we focused on features important for visually guided navigation: direction and distance. Previously, separate works have shown that directions and distances of navigable paths are coded in the occipital place area (OPA). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we tested how separate features are concurrently represented in the OPA. Participants saw eight types of scenes, in which four of them had one path and the other four had two paths. In single-path scenes, path direction was either to the left or to the right. In double-path scenes, both directions were present. A glass wall was placed in some paths to restrict navigational distance. To test how the OPA represents path directions and distances, we took three approaches. First, the independent-features approach examined whether the OPA codes each direction and distance. Second, the integrated-features approach explored how directions and distances are integrated into path units, as compared to pooled features, using double-path scenes. Finally, the integrated-paths approach asked how separate paths are combined into a scene. Using multi-voxel pattern similarity analysis, we found that the OPA's representations of single-path scenes were similar to other single-path scenes of either the same direction or the same distance. Representations of double-path scenes were similar to the combination of two constituent single-paths, as a combined unit of direction and distance rather than as a pooled representation of all features. These results show that the OPA combines the two features to form path units, which are then used to build multiple-path scenes. Altogether, these results suggest that visually guided navigation may be supported by the OPA that automatically and efficiently combines multiple features relevant for navigation and represent a navigation file.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jisu Kang
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, 50, Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, the Republic of Korea
| | - Soojin Park
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, 50, Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, the Republic of Korea.
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3
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Zhang Y, Zhang X, Lu X, Chen N. Attention spotlight in V1-based cortico-cortical interactions in human visual hierarchy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13140. [PMID: 38849423 PMCID: PMC11161588 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63817-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Attention is often viewed as a mental spotlight, which can be scaled like a zoom lens at specific spatial locations and features a center-surround gradient. Here, we demonstrate a neural signature of attention spotlight in signal transmission along the visual hierarchy. fMRI background connectivity analysis was performed between retinotopic V1 and downstream areas to characterize the spatial distribution of inter-areal interaction under two attentional states. We found that, compared to diffused attention, focal attention sharpened the spatial gradient in the strength of the background connectivity. Dynamic causal modeling analysis further revealed the effect of attention in both the feedback and feedforward connectivity between V1 and extrastriate cortex. In a context which induced a strong effect of crowding, the effect of attention in the background connectivity profile diminished. Our findings reveal a context-dependent attention prioritization in information transmission via modulating the recurrent processing across the early stages in human visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanyu Zhang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Xilin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, Guangdong, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, Guangdong, China
| | - Xincheng Lu
- Department of psychological and cognitive sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Nihong Chen
- Department of psychological and cognitive sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
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4
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Pinho AL, Richard H, Ponce AF, Eickenberg M, Amadon A, Dohmatob E, Denghien I, Torre JJ, Shankar S, Aggarwal H, Thual A, Chapalain T, Ginisty C, Becuwe-Desmidt S, Roger S, Lecomte Y, Berland V, Laurier L, Joly-Testault V, Médiouni-Cloarec G, Doublé C, Martins B, Varoquaux G, Dehaene S, Hertz-Pannier L, Thirion B. Individual Brain Charting dataset extension, third release for movie watching and retinotopy data. Sci Data 2024; 11:590. [PMID: 38839770 PMCID: PMC11153490 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03390-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The Individual Brain Charting (IBC) is a multi-task functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging dataset acquired at high spatial-resolution and dedicated to the cognitive mapping of the human brain. It consists in the deep phenotyping of twelve individuals, covering a broad range of psychological domains suitable for functional-atlasing applications. Here, we present the inclusion of task data from both naturalistic stimuli and trial-based designs, to uncover structures of brain activation. We rely on the Fast Shared Response Model (FastSRM) to provide a data-driven solution for modelling naturalistic stimuli, typically containing many features. We show that data from left-out runs can be reconstructed using FastSRM, enabling the extraction of networks from the visual, auditory and language systems. We also present the topographic organization of the visual system through retinotopy. In total, six new tasks were added to IBC, wherein four trial-based retinotopic tasks contributed with a mapping of the visual field to the cortex. IBC is open access: source plus derivatives imaging data and meta-data are available in public repositories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Luísa Pinho
- Université Paris-Saclay, Inria, CEA, Palaiseau, 91120, France.
- Department of Computer Science, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
- Western Centre for Brain and Mind, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Hugo Richard
- Université Paris-Saclay, Inria, CEA, Palaiseau, 91120, France
- Criteo AI Labs, Paris, France
- FAIRPLAY - IA coopérative: équité, vie privée, incitations, Paris, France
| | | | - Michael Eickenberg
- Université Paris-Saclay, Inria, CEA, Palaiseau, 91120, France
- Flatiron Institute, New York, USA
| | - Alexis Amadon
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Elvis Dohmatob
- Université Paris-Saclay, Inria, CEA, Palaiseau, 91120, France
- Meta FAIR, Paris, France
| | - Isabelle Denghien
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | | | - Swetha Shankar
- Université Paris-Saclay, Inria, CEA, Palaiseau, 91120, France
| | | | - Alexis Thual
- Université Paris-Saclay, Inria, CEA, Palaiseau, 91120, France
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Collège de France, Paris, France
| | | | | | | | | | - Yann Lecomte
- CEA Saclay/DRF/IFJ/NeuroSpin/UNIACT, Paris, France
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Gaël Varoquaux
- Université Paris-Saclay, Inria, CEA, Palaiseau, 91120, France
| | - Stanislas Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin center, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Lucie Hertz-Pannier
- CEA Saclay/DRF/IFJ/NeuroSpin/UNIACT, Paris, France
- UMR 1141, NeuroDiderot, Université de Paris, Paris, France
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Du J, DiNicola LM, Angeli PA, Saadon-Grosman N, Sun W, Kaiser S, Ladopoulou J, Xue A, Yeo BTT, Eldaief MC, Buckner RL. Organization of the human cerebral cortex estimated within individuals: networks, global topography, and function. J Neurophysiol 2024; 131:1014-1082. [PMID: 38489238 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00308.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The cerebral cortex is populated by specialized regions that are organized into networks. Here we estimated networks from functional MRI (fMRI) data in intensively sampled participants. The procedure was developed in two participants (scanned 31 times) and then prospectively applied to 15 participants (scanned 8-11 times). Analysis of the networks revealed a global organization. Locally organized first-order sensory and motor networks were surrounded by spatially adjacent second-order networks that linked to distant regions. Third-order networks possessed regions distributed widely throughout association cortex. Regions of distinct third-order networks displayed side-by-side juxtapositions with a pattern that repeated across multiple cortical zones. We refer to these as supra-areal association megaclusters (SAAMs). Within each SAAM, two candidate control regions were adjacent to three separate domain-specialized regions. Response properties were explored with task data. The somatomotor and visual networks responded to body movements and visual stimulation, respectively. Second-order networks responded to transients in an oddball detection task, consistent with a role in orienting to salient events. The third-order networks, including distinct regions within each SAAM, showed two levels of functional specialization. Regions linked to candidate control networks responded to working memory load across multiple stimulus domains. The remaining regions dissociated across language, social, and spatial/episodic processing domains. These results suggest that progressively higher-order networks nest outward from primary sensory and motor cortices. Within the apex zones of association cortex, there is specialization that repeatedly divides domain-flexible from domain-specialized regions. We discuss implications of these findings, including how repeating organizational motifs may emerge during development.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The organization of cerebral networks was estimated within individuals with intensive, repeat sampling of fMRI data. A hierarchical organization emerged in each individual that delineated first-, second-, and third-order cortical networks. Regions of distinct third-order association networks consistently exhibited side-by-side juxtapositions that repeated across multiple cortical zones, with clear and robust functional specialization among the embedded regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingnan Du
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Lauren M DiNicola
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Peter A Angeli
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Noam Saadon-Grosman
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Wendy Sun
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Stephanie Kaiser
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Joanna Ladopoulou
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Aihuiping Xue
- Centre for Sleep & Cognition and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - B T Thomas Yeo
- Centre for Sleep & Cognition and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Mark C Eldaief
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Randy L Buckner
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States
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6
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Ritter M, Hummer A, Pawloff M, Ledolter AA, Linhardt D, Woletz M, Deak GG, Sacu S, Ristl R, Ramazanova D, Holder GE, Windischberger C, Schmidt-Erfurth UM. Retinotopic cortical mapping in objective functional monitoring of macular therapy. Br J Ophthalmol 2024:bjophthalmol-2021-320723. [PMID: 38811051 DOI: 10.1136/bjo-2021-320723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS To determine the suitability of functional MRI (fMRI) as an objective measure of macular function following therapeutic intervention; conventional psychophysical measures rely heavily on patient compliance. METHODS Twenty patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) were studied with high-resolution fMRI, visual acuity, reading accuracy and speed, contrast sensitivity (CS) and microperimetry (MP) before and after 3 monthly intravitreal injections of ranibizumab. Population-receptive field retinotopic maps calculated from fMRI data were compared with psychophysical measures and optical coherence tomography. RESULTS Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) responders (≥5 letters) showed an increase of 29.5% in activated brain area, while non-responders showed a decrease of 0.8%. Radial histograms over eccentricity allowed quantification of the absolute number of significant voxels and thus differences before and after treatment. Responders showed increases in foveal (α<0.5°) activation, while non-responders did not. Absence of intraretinal fluid and preservation of outer retinal layers was associated with higher numbers of active V1 voxels and better BCVA. Higher voxel numbers were associated with improved reading performance and, less marked, with BCVA, CS and MP. CONCLUSION The data show that retinotopic mapping using fMRI can successfully be applied objectively to evaluate the therapeutic response in nAMD patients treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy. This demonstrates the ability of retinotopic mapping to provide an objective assessment of functional recovery at a cortical level; the technique can therefore be applied, in other degenerative macular diseases, to the assessment of potential therapeutic interventions such as gene therapy or cell replacement therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Ritter
- Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Allan Hummer
- MR Center of Excellence, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maximilian Pawloff
- Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anna A Ledolter
- Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - David Linhardt
- MR Center of Excellence, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Woletz
- MR Center of Excellence, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gabor Gyoergy Deak
- Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan Sacu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Robin Ristl
- Section for Medical Statistics, Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Intelligent Systems, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dariga Ramazanova
- Section for Medical Statistics, Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Intelligent Systems, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Graham E Holder
- Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK
| | - Christian Windischberger
- MR Center of Excellence, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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7
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Petersen SE, Seitzman BA, Nelson SM, Wig GS, Gordon EM. Principles of cortical areas and their implications for neuroimaging. Neuron 2024:S0896-6273(24)00355-6. [PMID: 38834069 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Cortical organization should constrain the study of how the brain performs behavior and cognition. A fundamental concept in cortical organization is that of arealization: that the cortex is parceled into discrete areas. In part one of this report, we review how non-human animal studies have illuminated principles of cortical arealization by revealing: (1) what defines a cortical area, (2) how cortical areas are formed, (3) how cortical areas interact with one another, and (4) what "computations" or "functions" areas perform. In part two, we discuss how these principles apply to neuroimaging research. In doing so, we highlight several examples where the commonly accepted interpretation of neuroimaging observations requires assumptions that violate the principles of arealization, including nonstationary areas that move on short time scales, large-scale gradients as organizing features, and cortical areas with singular functionality that perfectly map psychological constructs. Our belief is that principles of neurobiology should strongly guide the nature of computational explanations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven E Petersen
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Benjamin A Seitzman
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Steven M Nelson
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Gagan S Wig
- Center for Vital Longevity, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Evan M Gordon
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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8
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Aganj I, Nasr S. Selective Functional Connectivity between Ocular Dominance Columns in the Primary Visual Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.22.595395. [PMID: 38826279 PMCID: PMC11142215 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.22.595395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
The primary visual cortex (V1) in humans and many animals is comprised of fine-scale neuronal ensembles that respond preferentially to the stimulation of one eye over the other, also known as the ocular dominance columns (ODCs). Despite its importance in shaping our perception, to date, the nature of the functional interactions between ODCs has remained poorly understood. In this work, we aimed to improve our understanding of the interaction mechanisms between fine-scale neuronal structures distributed within V1. To that end, we applied high-resolution functional MRI to study mechanisms of functional connectivity between ODCs. Using this technique, we quantified the level of functional connectivity between ODCs as a function of the ocular preference of ODCs, showing that alike ODCs are functionally more connected compared to unalike ones. Through these experiments, we aspired to contribute to filling the gap in our knowledge of the functional connectivity of ODCs in humans as compared to animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iman Aganj
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Radiology Department, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shahin Nasr
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Radiology Department, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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9
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Phangwiwat T, Phunchongharn P, Wongsawat Y, Chatnuntawech I, Wang S, Chunharas C, Sprague TC, Woodman GF, Itthipuripat S. Sustained attention operates via dissociable neural mechanisms across different eccentric locations. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11188. [PMID: 38755251 PMCID: PMC11099062 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61171-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
In primates, foveal and peripheral vision have distinct neural architectures and functions. However, it has been debated if selective attention operates via the same or different neural mechanisms across eccentricities. We tested these alternative accounts by examining the effects of selective attention on the steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) and the fronto-parietal signal measured via EEG from human subjects performing a sustained visuospatial attention task. With a negligible level of eye movements, both SSVEP and SND exhibited the heterogeneous patterns of attentional modulations across eccentricities. Specifically, the attentional modulations of these signals peaked at the parafoveal locations and such modulations wore off as visual stimuli appeared closer to the fovea or further away towards the periphery. However, with a relatively higher level of eye movements, the heterogeneous patterns of attentional modulations of these neural signals were less robust. These data demonstrate that the top-down influence of covert visuospatial attention on early sensory processing in human cortex depends on eccentricity and the level of saccadic responses. Taken together, the results suggest that sustained visuospatial attention operates differently across different eccentric locations, providing new understanding of how attention augments sensory representations regardless of where the attended stimulus appears.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanagrit Phangwiwat
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10140, Thailand
- Big Data Experience Center (BX), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10600, Thailand
- Department of Computer Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10140, Thailand
| | - Phond Phunchongharn
- Big Data Experience Center (BX), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10600, Thailand
- Department of Computer Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10140, Thailand
| | - Yodchanan Wongsawat
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand
| | - Itthi Chatnuntawech
- National Nanotechnology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand
| | - Sisi Wang
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Chaipat Chunharas
- Cognitive Clinical and Computational Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Chula Neuroscience Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Thomas C Sprague
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Geoffrey F Woodman
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Sirawaj Itthipuripat
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10140, Thailand.
- Big Data Experience Center (BX), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10600, Thailand.
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA.
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10
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Dado T, Papale P, Lozano A, Le L, Wang F, van Gerven M, Roelfsema P, Güçlütürk Y, Güçlü U. Brain2GAN: Feature-disentangled neural encoding and decoding of visual perception in the primate brain. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012058. [PMID: 38709818 PMCID: PMC11098503 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
A challenging goal of neural coding is to characterize the neural representations underlying visual perception. To this end, multi-unit activity (MUA) of macaque visual cortex was recorded in a passive fixation task upon presentation of faces and natural images. We analyzed the relationship between MUA and latent representations of state-of-the-art deep generative models, including the conventional and feature-disentangled representations of generative adversarial networks (GANs) (i.e., z- and w-latents of StyleGAN, respectively) and language-contrastive representations of latent diffusion networks (i.e., CLIP-latents of Stable Diffusion). A mass univariate neural encoding analysis of the latent representations showed that feature-disentangled w representations outperform both z and CLIP representations in explaining neural responses. Further, w-latent features were found to be positioned at the higher end of the complexity gradient which indicates that they capture visual information relevant to high-level neural activity. Subsequently, a multivariate neural decoding analysis of the feature-disentangled representations resulted in state-of-the-art spatiotemporal reconstructions of visual perception. Taken together, our results not only highlight the important role of feature-disentanglement in shaping high-level neural representations underlying visual perception but also serve as an important benchmark for the future of neural coding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thirza Dado
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Paolo Papale
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Antonio Lozano
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Lynn Le
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Feng Wang
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Marcel van Gerven
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Pieter Roelfsema
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Laboratory of Visual Brain Therapy, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Yağmur Güçlütürk
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Umut Güçlü
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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11
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Malania M, Lin YS, Hörmandinger C, Werner JS, Greenlee MW, Plank T. Training-induced changes in population receptive field properties in visual cortex: Impact of eccentric vision training on population receptive field properties and the crowding effect. J Vis 2024; 24:7. [PMID: 38771584 PMCID: PMC11114612 DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.5.7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the impact of eccentric-vision training on population receptive field (pRF) estimates to provide insights into brain plasticity processes driven by practice. Fifteen participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements before and after behavioral training on a visual crowding task, where the relative orientation of the opening (gap position: up/down, left/right) in a Landolt C optotype had to be discriminated in the presence of flanking ring stimuli. Drifting checkerboard bar stimuli were used for pRF size estimation in multiple regions of interest (ROIs): dorsal-V1 (dV1), dorsal-V2 (dV2), ventral-V1 (vV1), and ventral-V2 (vV2), including the visual cortex region corresponding to the trained retinal location. pRF estimates in V1 and V2 were obtained along eccentricities from 0.5° to 9°. Statistical analyses revealed a significant decrease of the crowding anisotropy index (p = 0.009) after training, indicating improvement on crowding task performance following training. Notably, pRF sizes at and near the trained location decreased significantly (p = 0.005). Dorsal and ventral V2 exhibited significant pRF size reductions, especially at eccentricities where the training stimuli were presented (p < 0.001). In contrast, no significant changes in pRF estimates were found in either vV1 (p = 0.181) or dV1 (p = 0.055) voxels. These findings suggest that practice on a crowding task can lead to a reduction of pRF sizes in trained visual cortex, particularly in V2, highlighting the plasticity and adaptability of the adult visual system induced by prolonged training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maka Malania
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Yih-Shiuan Lin
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | | | - John S Werner
- Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Mark W Greenlee
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Tina Plank
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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12
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Zhang S, Zhang T, Cao G, Zhou J, He Z, Li X, Ren Y, Liu T, Jiang X, Guo L, Han J, Liu T. Species -shared and -unique gyral peaks on human and macaque brains. eLife 2024; 12:RP90182. [PMID: 38635322 PMCID: PMC11026093 DOI: 10.7554/elife.90182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Cortical folding is an important feature of primate brains that plays a crucial role in various cognitive and behavioral processes. Extensive research has revealed both similarities and differences in folding morphology and brain function among primates including macaque and human. The folding morphology is the basis of brain function, making cross-species studies on folding morphology important for understanding brain function and species evolution. However, prior studies on cross-species folding morphology mainly focused on partial regions of the cortex instead of the entire brain. Previously, our research defined a whole-brain landmark based on folding morphology: the gyral peak. It was found to exist stably across individuals and ages in both human and macaque brains. Shared and unique gyral peaks in human and macaque are identified in this study, and their similarities and differences in spatial distribution, anatomical morphology, and functional connectivity were also dicussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songyao Zhang
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Tuo Zhang
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Guannan Cao
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Jingchao Zhou
- School of Life Science and Technology, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengduChina
| | - Zhibin He
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Xiao Li
- School of Information Technology, Northwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Yudan Ren
- School of Information Technology, Northwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Tao Liu
- College of Science, North China University of Science and TechnologyTangshanChina
| | - Xi Jiang
- School of Life Science and Technology, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengduChina
| | - Lei Guo
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Junwei Han
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Tianming Liu
- Cortical Architecture Imaging and Discovery Lab, Department of Computer Science and Bioimaging Research Center, University of GeorgiaAthensUnited States
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13
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Wright J, Bourke P. Markov Blankets and Mirror Symmetries-Free Energy Minimization and Mesocortical Anatomy. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 26:287. [PMID: 38667842 PMCID: PMC11049374 DOI: 10.3390/e26040287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
A theoretical account of development in mesocortical anatomy is derived from the free energy principle, operating in a neural field with both Hebbian and anti-Hebbian neural plasticity. An elementary structural unit is proposed, in which synaptic connections at mesoscale are arranged in paired patterns with mirror symmetry. Exchanges of synaptic flux in each pattern form coupled spatial eigenmodes, and the line of mirror reflection between the paired patterns operates as a Markov blanket, so that prediction errors in exchanges between the pairs are minimized. The theoretical analysis is then compared to the outcomes from a biological model of neocortical development, in which neuron precursors are selected by apoptosis for cell body and synaptic connections maximizing synchrony and also minimizing axonal length. It is shown that this model results in patterns of connection with the anticipated mirror symmetries, at micro-, meso- and inter-arial scales, among lateral connections, and in cortical depth. This explains the spatial organization and functional significance of neuron response preferences, and is compatible with the structural form of both columnar and noncolumnar cortex. Multi-way interactions of mirrored representations can provide a preliminary anatomically realistic model of cortical information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Wright
- Centre for Brain Research, and Department of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Paul Bourke
- School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
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14
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Kennedy B, Malladi SN, Tootell RBH, Nasr S. A previously undescribed scene-selective site is the key to encoding ego-motion in naturalistic environments. eLife 2024; 13:RP91601. [PMID: 38506719 PMCID: PMC10954307 DOI: 10.7554/elife.91601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Current models of scene processing in the human brain include three scene-selective areas: the parahippocampal place area (or the temporal place areas), the restrosplenial cortex (or the medial place area), and the transverse occipital sulcus (or the occipital place area). Here, we challenged this model by showing that at least one other scene-selective site can also be detected within the human posterior intraparietal gyrus. Despite the smaller size of this site compared to the other scene-selective areas, the posterior intraparietal gyrus scene-selective (PIGS) site was detected consistently in a large pool of subjects (n = 59; 33 females). The reproducibility of this finding was tested based on multiple criteria, including comparing the results across sessions, utilizing different scanners (3T and 7T) and stimulus sets. Furthermore, we found that this site (but not the other three scene-selective areas) is significantly sensitive to ego-motion in scenes, thus distinguishing the role of PIGS in scene perception relative to other scene-selective areas. These results highlight the importance of including finer scale scene-selective sites in models of scene processing - a crucial step toward a more comprehensive understanding of how scenes are encoded under dynamic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Kennedy
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General HospitalCharlestownUnited States
| | - Sarala N Malladi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General HospitalCharlestownUnited States
| | - Roger BH Tootell
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General HospitalCharlestownUnited States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Shahin Nasr
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General HospitalCharlestownUnited States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
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15
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Luo L, Wang X, Lu J, Chen G, Luan G, Li W, Wang Q, Fang F. Local field potentials, spiking activity, and receptive fields in human visual cortex. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2024; 67:543-554. [PMID: 37957484 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-023-2436-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
The concept of receptive field (RF) is central to sensory neuroscience. Neuronal RF properties have been substantially studied in animals, while those in humans remain nearly unexplored. Here, we measured neuronal RFs with intracranial local field potentials (LFPs) and spiking activity in human visual cortex (V1/V2/V3). We recorded LFPs via macro-contacts and discovered that RF sizes estimated from low-frequency activity (LFA, 0.5-30 Hz) were larger than those estimated from low-gamma activity (LGA, 30-60 Hz) and high-gamma activity (HGA, 60-150 Hz). We then took a rare opportunity to record LFPs and spiking activity via microwires in V1 simultaneously. We found that RF sizes and temporal profiles measured from LGA and HGA closely matched those from spiking activity. In sum, this study reveals that spiking activity of neurons in human visual cortex could be well approximated by LGA and HGA in RF estimation and temporal profile measurement, implying the pivotal functions of LGA and HGA in early visual information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Luo
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xiongfei Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100093, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Epilepsy, Epilepsy Center, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Junshi Lu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Guanpeng Chen
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Guoming Luan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100093, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Epilepsy, Epilepsy Center, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100093, China
- Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, 100069, China
| | - Wu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Qian Wang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
| | - Fang Fang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
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16
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Barnas AJ, Greenberg AS. The object-based shift direction anisotropy is modulated by the horizontal visual field meridian. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024:17470218241230988. [PMID: 38279526 DOI: 10.1177/17470218241230988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
Reallocating object-based attention across the visual field meridians is significantly faster horizontally than vertically (termed the shift direction anisotropy; SDA), implicating the meridians in reorienting object-based attention. Here, we tested the modulatory role of the meridians in the emergence of the SDA by manipulating meridian local feature contrast. Considering the notion of separate pools of attentional resources in each cortical hemisphere, we hypothesised that manipulating the horizontal meridian would selectively modulate the SDA. In four experiments, participants were presented with an "L"-shaped object and detected a target that appeared at either a cued location or at one of two equidistant non-cued locations at the far end of the horizontal or vertical object arm. Meridian local feature contrast was manipulated with perceptually strong enhancements (visible lines and colour contrast borders) and perceptually weak enhancements (illusory borders from line texture patterns and inducers). Weak enhancements of the meridians did not significantly modulate SDA magnitude; however, during perceptually strong enhancements of the horizontal meridian, the SDA was significantly reduced compared with both vertical meridian enhancement and no-enhancement conditions. Moreover, horizontal and vertical shift RTs were statistically equivalent when the horizontal meridian was enhanced with a visible line, our strongest manipulation, indicating the SDA was eliminated. These results suggest that the SDA emerges due to reallocating object-based attention across the horizontal meridian. We interpret this finding as evidence in support of the theory by which anatomical segregations of the visual system determine how pools of attentional resources resolve competition between and within cortical hemispheres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J Barnas
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Adam S Greenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, USA
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17
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Nasr S, Skerswetat J, Gaier ED, Malladi SN, Kennedy B, Tootell RB, Bex P, Hunter DG. Using high-resolution functional MRI to differentiate impacts of strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia on evoked ocular dominance activity in humans. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.11.579855. [PMID: 38405701 PMCID: PMC10888796 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.11.579855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
We employed high-resolution functional MRI (fMRI) to distinguish the impacts of anisometropia and strabismus (the two most frequent causes of amblyopia) on the evoked ocular dominance (OD) response. Sixteen amblyopic participants (8 females), comprising 8 individuals with strabismus, 7 with anisometropia, 1 with deprivational amblyopia, along with 8 individuals with normal visual acuity (1 female), participated in this study for whom, we measured the difference between the response to stimulation of the two eyes, across early visual areas (V1-V4). In controls, as expected from the organization of OD columns, the evoked OD response formed a striped pattern that was mostly confined to V1. Compared to controls, the OD response in amblyopic participants formed larger fused patches that extended into downstream visual areas. Moreover, both anisometropic and strabismic participants showed stronger OD responses in V1, as well as in downstream visual areas V2-V4. Although this increase was most pronounced in V1, the correlation between the OD response level and the interocular visual acuity difference (measured behaviorally) was stronger in higher-level visual areas (V2-V4). Beyond these common effects, and despite similar densities of amblyopia between the anisometropic and strabismic participants, we found a greater increase in the size of V1 portion that responded preferentially to fellow eye stimulation in anisometropic compared to strabismic individuals. We also found a greater difference between the amplitudes of the response to binocular stimulation, in those regions that responded preferentially to the fellow vs. amblyopic eye, in anisometropic compared to strabismic subjects. In contrast, strabismic subjects demonstrated increased correlation between the OD responses evoked within V1 superficial and deep cortical depths, whereas anisometropic subjects did not. These results provide some of the first direct functional evidence for distinct impacts of strabismus and anisometropia on the mesoscale functional organization of the human visual system, thus extending what was inferred previously about amblyopia from animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahin Nasr
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jan Skerswetat
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Eric D. Gaier
- Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Ophthalmology, Boston’s Children Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Sarala N. Malladi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Bryan Kennedy
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Roger B.H. Tootell
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Peter Bex
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - David G. Hunter
- Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Ophthalmology, Boston’s Children Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
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18
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Zhang S, Zhang T, Cao G, Zhou J, He Z, Li X, Ren Y, Liu T, Jiang X, Guo L, Han J, Liu T. Species -Shared and -Unique Gyral Peaks on Human and Macaque Brains. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.26.550760. [PMID: 37546923 PMCID: PMC10402126 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.26.550760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Cortical folding is an important feature of primate brains that plays a crucial role in various cognitive and behavioral processes. Extensive research has revealed both similarities and differences in folding morphology and brain function among primates including macaque and human. The folding morphology is the basis of brain function, making cross-species studies on folding morphology important for understanding brain function and species evolution. However, prior studies on cross-species folding morphology mainly focused on partial regions of the cortex instead of the entire brain. Previously, we defined a whole-brain landmark based on folding morphology: the gyral peak. It was found to exist stably across individuals and ages in both human and macaque brains. In this study, we identified shared and unique gyral peaks in human and macaque, and investigated the similarities and differences in the spatial distribution, anatomical morphology, and functional connectivity of them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songyao Zhang
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Tuo Zhang
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Guannan Cao
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Jingchao Zhou
- College of Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, China
| | - Zhibin He
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Xiao Li
- School of Information Technology, Northwest University, Xi’an, China
| | - Yudan Ren
- School of Information Technology, Northwest University, Xi’an, China
| | - Tao Liu
- College of Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, China
| | - Xi Jiang
- School of Life Science and Technology, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Lei Guo
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Junwei Han
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Tianming Liu
- Cortical Architecture Imaging and Discovery Lab, Department of Computer Science and Bioimaging Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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19
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Bergmann J, Petro LS, Abbatecola C, Li MS, Morgan AT, Muckli L. Cortical depth profiles in primary visual cortex for illusory and imaginary experiences. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1002. [PMID: 38307834 PMCID: PMC10837448 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45065-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Visual illusions and mental imagery are non-physical sensory experiences that involve cortical feedback processing in the primary visual cortex. Using laminar functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in two studies, we investigate if information about these internal experiences is visible in the activation patterns of different layers of primary visual cortex (V1). We find that imagery content is decodable mainly from deep layers of V1, whereas seemingly 'real' illusory content is decodable mainly from superficial layers. Furthermore, illusory content shares information with perceptual content, whilst imagery content does not generalise to illusory or perceptual information. Together, our results suggest that illusions and imagery, which differ immensely in their subjective experiences, also involve partially distinct early visual microcircuits. However, overlapping microcircuit recruitment might emerge based on the nuanced nature of subjective conscious experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Bergmann
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
- Department of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Lucy S Petro
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Clement Abbatecola
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Min S Li
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - A Tyler Morgan
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Functional MRI Core Facility, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Lars Muckli
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
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20
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Lei VLC, Leong TI, Leong CT, Liu L, Choi CU, Sereno MI, Li D, Huang R. Phase-encoded fMRI tracks down brainstorms of natural language processing with subsecond precision. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26617. [PMID: 38339788 PMCID: PMC10858339 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Natural language processing unfolds information overtime as spatially separated, multimodal, and interconnected neural processes. Existing noninvasive subtraction-based neuroimaging techniques cannot simultaneously achieve the spatial and temporal resolutions required to visualize ongoing information flows across the whole brain. Here we have developed rapid phase-encoded designs to fully exploit the temporal information latent in functional magnetic resonance imaging data, as well as overcoming scanner noise and head-motion challenges during overt language tasks. We captured real-time information flows as coherent hemodynamic waves traveling over the cortical surface during listening, reading aloud, reciting, and oral cross-language interpreting tasks. We were able to observe the timing, location, direction, and surge of traveling waves in all language tasks, which were visualized as "brainstorms" on brain "weather" maps. The paths of hemodynamic traveling waves provide direct evidence for dual-stream models of the visual and auditory systems as well as logistics models for crossmodal and cross-language processing. Specifically, we have tracked down the step-by-step processing of written or spoken sentences first being received and processed by the visual or auditory streams, carried across language and domain-general cognitive regions, and finally delivered as overt speeches monitored through the auditory cortex, which gives a complete picture of information flows across the brain during natural language functioning. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Phase-encoded fMRI enables simultaneous imaging of high spatial and temporal resolution, capturing continuous spatiotemporal dynamics of the entire brain during real-time overt natural language tasks. Spatiotemporal traveling wave patterns provide direct evidence for constructing comprehensive and explicit models of human information processing. This study unlocks the potential of applying rapid phase-encoded fMRI to indirectly track the underlying neural information flows of sequential sensory, motor, and high-order cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Lai Cheng Lei
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain SciencesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
- Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
| | - Teng Ieng Leong
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain SciencesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
- Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
| | - Cheok Teng Leong
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain SciencesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
- Faculty of Science and TechnologyUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
| | - Lili Liu
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain SciencesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
- Faculty of Science and TechnologyUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
| | - Chi Un Choi
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain SciencesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
| | - Martin I. Sereno
- Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Defeng Li
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain SciencesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
- Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
| | - Ruey‐Song Huang
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain SciencesUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
- Faculty of Science and TechnologyUniversity of MacauTaipaChina
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21
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Henderson MM, Serences JT, Rungratsameetaweemana N. Dynamic categorization rules alter representations in human visual cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.09.11.557257. [PMID: 37745512 PMCID: PMC10515851 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.11.557257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Everyday perceptual tasks require sensory stimuli to be dynamically encoded and analyzed according to changing behavioral goals. For example, when searching for an apple at the supermarket, one might first find the Granny Smith apples by separating all visible apples into the categories "green" and "non-green". However, suddenly remembering that your family actually likes Fuji apples would necessitate reconfiguring the boundary to separate "red" from "red-yellow" objects. This flexible processing enables identical sensory stimuli to elicit varied behaviors based on the current task context. While this phenomenon is ubiquitous in nature, little is known about the neural mechanisms that underlie such flexible computation. Traditionally, sensory regions have been viewed as mainly devoted to processing inputs, with limited involvement in adapting to varying task contexts. However, from the standpoint of efficient computation, it is plausible that sensory regions integrate inputs with current task goals, facilitating more effective information relay to higher-level cortical areas. Here we test this possibility by asking human participants to visually categorize novel shape stimuli based on different linear and non-linear boundaries. Using fMRI and multivariate analyses of retinotopically-defined visual areas, we found that shape representations in visual cortex became more distinct across relevant decision boundaries in a context-dependent manner, with the largest changes in discriminability observed for stimuli near the decision boundary. Importantly, these context-driven modulations were associated with improved categorization performance. Together, these findings demonstrate that codes in visual cortex are adaptively modulated to optimize object separability based on currently relevant decision boundaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret M Henderson
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
- Department of Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | - John T Serences
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA
- Kavli Foundation for the Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA
| | - Nuttida Rungratsameetaweemana
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, USA
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22
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Cho E, Yoon SA, Park HJ. Neural processing of prototypicality and simplicity of product design in forming design preferences. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0297148. [PMID: 38241423 PMCID: PMC10798453 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The current study investigates the neural correlates when processing prototypicality and simplicity-affecting the preference of product design. Despite its significance, not much is known about how our brain processes these visual qualities of design when forming design preferences. We posit that, although fluency is the perceptual judgment accounting for the positive effects of both prototypicality and simplicity on design preference, the neural substrates for the fluency judgment associated with prototypicality would differ from those associated with simplicity. To investigate these issues, we conducted an fMRI study of preference decisions for actual product designs with different levels of prototypicality and simplicity. The results show a significant functional gradient between the preference processing of simplicity and prototypicality-i.e., involvement of the early ventral stream of visual information processing for simplicity evaluation but recruitment of the late ventral stream and parietal-frontal brain regions for prototypicality evaluation. The interaction between the simplicity and prototypicality evaluations was found in the extrastriate cortex in the right hemisphere. The segregated brain involvements suggest that the fluency judgment for prototypicality and simplicity contribute to preference choice in different levels of cognitive hierarchy in the perceptual mechanism of the design preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Cho
- School of Fashion and Textiles, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Shin-Ae Yoon
- Department of Media and Communication, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Hae-Jeong Park
- Department of Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Science, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
- Institute of Human Complexity and Systems Science, Center for Systems and Translational Brain Sciences, InYonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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23
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O'Bryan SR, Jung S, Mohan AJ, Scolari M. Category Learning Selectively Enhances Representations of Boundary-Adjacent Exemplars in Early Visual Cortex. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1039232023. [PMID: 37968121 PMCID: PMC10860654 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1039-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Category learning and visual perception are fundamentally interactive processes, such that successful categorization often depends on the ability to make fine visual discriminations between stimuli that vary on continuously valued dimensions. Research suggests that category learning can improve perceptual discrimination along the stimulus dimensions that predict category membership and that these perceptual enhancements are a byproduct of functional plasticity in the visual system. However, the precise mechanisms underlying learning-dependent sensory modulation in categorization are not well understood. We hypothesized that category learning leads to a representational sharpening of underlying sensory populations tuned to values at or near the category boundary. Furthermore, such sharpening should occur largely during active learning of new categories. These hypotheses were tested using fMRI and a theoretically constrained model of vision to quantify changes in the shape of orientation representations while human adult subjects learned to categorize physically identical stimuli based on either an orientation rule (N = 12) or an orthogonal spatial frequency rule (N = 13). Consistent with our predictions, modeling results revealed relatively enhanced reconstructed representations of stimulus orientation in visual cortex (V1-V3) only for orientation rule learners. Moreover, these reconstructed representations varied as a function of distance from the category boundary, such that representations for challenging stimuli near the boundary were significantly sharper than those for stimuli at the category centers. These results support an efficient model of plasticity wherein only the sensory populations tuned to the most behaviorally relevant regions of feature space are enhanced during category learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean R O'Bryan
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409
| | - Shinyoung Jung
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409
| | - Anto J Mohan
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409
| | - Miranda Scolari
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409
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24
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Leferink CA, DeKraker J, Brunec IK, Köhler S, Moscovitch M, Walther DB. Organization of pRF size along the AP axis of the hippocampus and adjacent medial temporal cortex is related to specialization for scenes versus faces. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad429. [PMID: 37991278 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus is largely recognized for its integral contributions to memory processing. By contrast, its role in perceptual processing remains less clear. Hippocampal properties vary along the anterior-posterior (AP) axis. Based on past research suggesting a gradient in the scale of features processed along the AP extent of the hippocampus, the representations have been proposed to vary as a function of granularity along this axis. One way to quantify such granularity is with population receptive field (pRF) size measured during visual processing, which has so far received little attention. In this study, we compare the pRF sizes within the hippocampus to its activation for images of scenes versus faces. We also measure these functional properties in surrounding medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures. Consistent with past research, we find pRFs to be larger in the anterior than in the posterior hippocampus. Critically, our analysis of surrounding MTL regions, the perirhinal cortex, entorhinal cortex, and parahippocampal cortex shows a similar correlation between scene sensitivity and larger pRF size. These findings provide conclusive evidence for a tight relationship between the pRF size and the sensitivity to image content in the hippocampus and adjacent medial temporal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte A Leferink
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Department of Psychology, 100 St George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada
| | - Jordan DeKraker
- Department of Psychology, Western University, Social Science Centre Rm 7418, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Iva K Brunec
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 425 S. University Ave, Stephen A. Levin Bldg. Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6241, United States
| | - Stefan Köhler
- Department of Psychology, Western University, Social Science Centre Rm 7418, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Morris Moscovitch
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Department of Psychology, 100 St George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada
| | - Dirk B Walther
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Department of Psychology, 100 St George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada
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25
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Brewer AA, Barton B. Cortical field maps across human sensory cortex. Front Comput Neurosci 2023; 17:1232005. [PMID: 38164408 PMCID: PMC10758003 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2023.1232005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Cortical processing pathways for sensory information in the mammalian brain tend to be organized into topographical representations that encode various fundamental sensory dimensions. Numerous laboratories have now shown how these representations are organized into numerous cortical field maps (CMFs) across visual and auditory cortex, with each CFM supporting a specialized computation or set of computations that underlie the associated perceptual behaviors. An individual CFM is defined by two orthogonal topographical gradients that reflect two essential aspects of feature space for that sense. Multiple adjacent CFMs are then organized across visual and auditory cortex into macrostructural patterns termed cloverleaf clusters. CFMs within cloverleaf clusters are thought to share properties such as receptive field distribution, cortical magnification, and processing specialization. Recent measurements point to the likely existence of CFMs in the other senses, as well, with topographical representations of at least one sensory dimension demonstrated in somatosensory, gustatory, and possibly olfactory cortical pathways. Here we discuss the evidence for CFM and cloverleaf cluster organization across human sensory cortex as well as approaches used to identify such organizational patterns. Knowledge of how these topographical representations are organized across cortex provides us with insight into how our conscious perceptions are created from our basic sensory inputs. In addition, studying how these representations change during development, trauma, and disease serves as an important tool for developing improvements in clinical therapies and rehabilitation for sensory deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa A. Brewer
- mindSPACE Laboratory, Departments of Cognitive Sciences and Language Science (by Courtesy), Center for Hearing Research, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Brian Barton
- mindSPACE Laboratory, Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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26
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Threethipthikoon T, Li Z, Shigemasu H. Orientation representation in human visual cortices: contributions of non-visual information and action-related process. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1231109. [PMID: 38106392 PMCID: PMC10722153 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1231109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Orientation processing in the human brain plays a crucial role in guiding grasping actions toward an object. Remarkably, despite the absence of visual input, the human visual cortex can still process orientation information. Instead of visual input, non-visual information, including tactile and proprioceptive sensory input from the hand and arm, as well as feedback from action-related processes, may contribute to orientation processing. However, the precise mechanisms by which the visual cortices process orientation information in the context of non-visual sensory input and action-related processes remain to be elucidated. Thus, our study examined the orientation representation within the visual cortices by analyzing the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signals under four action conditions: direct grasp (DG), air grasp (AG), non-grasp (NG), and uninformed grasp (UG). The images of the cylindrical object were shown at +45° or - 45° orientations, corresponding to those of the real object to be grasped with the whole-hand gesture. Participants judged their orientation under all conditions. Grasping was performed without online visual feedback of the hand and object. The purpose of this design was to investigate the visual areas under conditions involving tactile feedback, proprioception, and action-related processes. To address this, a multivariate pattern analysis was used to examine the differences among the cortical patterns of the four action conditions in orientation representation by classification. Overall, significant decoding accuracy over chance level was discovered for the DG; however, during AG, only the early visual areas showed significant accuracy, suggesting that the object's tactile feedback influences the orientation process in higher visual areas. The NG showed no statistical significance in any area, indicating that without the grasping action, visual input does not contribute to cortical pattern representation. Interestingly, only the dorsal and ventral divisions of the third visual area (V3d and V3v) showed significant decoding accuracy during the UG despite the absence of visual instructions, suggesting that the orientation representation was derived from action-related processes in V3d and visual recognition of object visualization in V3v. The processing of orientation information during non-visually guided grasping of objects relies on other non-visual sources and is specifically divided by the purpose of action or recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zhen Li
- Guangdong Laboratory of Machine Perception and Intelligent Computing, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Engineering, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen, China
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27
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Fang Z, Bloem IM, Olsson C, Ma WJ, Winawer J. Normalization by orientation-tuned surround in human V1-V3. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011704. [PMID: 38150484 PMCID: PMC10793941 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
An influential account of neuronal responses in primary visual cortex is the normalized energy model. This model is often implemented as a multi-stage computation. The first stage is linear filtering. The second stage is the extraction of contrast energy, whereby a complex cell computes the squared and summed outputs of a pair of the linear filters in quadrature phase. The third stage is normalization, in which a local population of complex cells mutually inhibit one another. Because the population includes cells tuned to a range of orientations and spatial frequencies, the result is that the responses are effectively normalized by the local stimulus contrast. Here, using evidence from human functional MRI, we show that the classical model fails to account for the relative responses to two classes of stimuli: straight, parallel, band-passed contours (gratings), and curved, band-passed contours (snakes). The snakes elicit fMRI responses that are about twice as large as the gratings, yet a traditional divisive normalization model predicts responses that are about the same. Motivated by these observations and others from the literature, we implement a divisive normalization model in which cells matched in orientation tuning ("tuned normalization") preferentially inhibit each other. We first show that this model accounts for differential responses to these two classes of stimuli. We then show that the model successfully generalizes to other band-pass textures, both in V1 and in extrastriate cortex (V2 and V3). We conclude that even in primary visual cortex, complex features of images such as the degree of heterogeneity, can have large effects on neural responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeming Fang
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
- Department of Cognitive Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, United States of America
| | - Ilona M. Bloem
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - Catherine Olsson
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - Wei Ji Ma
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - Jonathan Winawer
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
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28
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Kalyani A, Contier O, Klemm L, Azañon E, Schreiber S, Speck O, Reichert C, Kuehn E. Reduced dimension stimulus decoding and column-based modeling reveal architectural differences of primary somatosensory finger maps between younger and older adults. Neuroimage 2023; 283:120430. [PMID: 37923281 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The primary somatosensory cortex (SI) contains fine-grained tactile representations of the body, arranged in an orderly fashion. The use of ultra-high resolution fMRI data to detect group differences, for example between younger and older adults' SI maps, is challenging, because group alignment often does not preserve the high spatial detail of the data. Here, we use robust-shared response modeling (rSRM) that allows group analyses by mapping individual stimulus-driven responses to a lower dimensional shared feature space, to detect age-related differences in tactile representations between younger and older adults using 7T-fMRI data. Using this method, we show that finger representations are more precise in Brodmann-Area (BA) 3b and BA1 compared to BA2 and motor areas, and that this hierarchical processing is preserved across age groups. By combining rSRM with column-based decoding (C-SRM), we further show that the number of columns that optimally describes finger maps in SI is higher in younger compared to older adults in BA1, indicating a greater columnar size in older adults' SI. Taken together, we conclude that rSRM is suitable for finding fine-grained group differences in ultra-high resolution fMRI data, and we provide first evidence that the columnar architecture in SI changes with increasing age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avinash Kalyani
- Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research (IKND), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, 39120, Germany.
| | - Oliver Contier
- Vision and Computational Cognition Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, 04103, Germany; Max Planck School of Cognition, Stephanstrasse 1a, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Lisa Klemm
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS) Magdeburg, Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; Clinic for Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120, Germany
| | - Elena Azañon
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS) Magdeburg, Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; Clinic for Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120, Germany
| | - Stefanie Schreiber
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; Clinic for Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120, Germany
| | - Oliver Speck
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS) Magdeburg, Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; Department Biomedical Magnetic Resonance (BMMR), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany; Research Campus STIMULATE, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Reichert
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS) Magdeburg, Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; Research Campus STIMULATE, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Esther Kuehn
- Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research (IKND), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS) Magdeburg, Magdeburg, 39120, Germany; Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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29
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Yoo SA, Joo SJ. Behavioral examination of the role of the primary visual cortex in the perceived size representation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21134. [PMID: 38036762 PMCID: PMC10689741 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48632-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research has shown that neural activity in the primary visual cortex (V1) and V1 surface area may be linked with subjective experience of size illusions. Here, we behaviorally measured the hallway illusion with experimental manipulations as a proxy of V1's influence on size perception. We first tested whether the hallway illusion can persist without further recurrent processing by using backward masking. Next, we examined relations among the hallway illusion magnitude and other perceptual measures that have been suggested to be correlated with V1 surface area. In Experiment 1, the magnitude of the hallway illusion was not affected by the stimulus duration and visual masking when the hallway context was previewed (i.e., complex depth information is already processed). It suggests that V1 activity could support the size illusion to some extent even when recurrent processing between V1 and higher areas is disturbed. In Experiment 2, the hallway illusion magnitude was correlated with the Vernier acuity threshold, but not with physical size discriminability. Our results provide converging evidence with the previous findings in that neural activity in V1 may contribute to size illusions and that V1 surface area is not the sole factor that mediates size perception and visual precision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sang-Ah Yoo
- Department of Psychology, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Jun Joo
- Department of Psychology, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
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30
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Chetverikov A, Jehee JFM. Motion direction is represented as a bimodal probability distribution in the human visual cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7634. [PMID: 37993430 PMCID: PMC10665457 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43251-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans infer motion direction from noisy sensory signals. We hypothesize that to make these inferences more precise, the visual system computes motion direction not only from velocity but also spatial orientation signals - a 'streak' created by moving objects. We implement this hypothesis in a Bayesian model, which quantifies knowledge with probability distributions, and test its predictions using psychophysics and fMRI. Using a probabilistic pattern-based analysis, we decode probability distributions of motion direction from trial-by-trial activity in the human visual cortex. Corroborating the predictions, the decoded distributions have a bimodal shape, with peaks that predict the direction and magnitude of behavioral errors. Interestingly, we observe similar bimodality in the distribution of the observers' behavioral responses across trials. Together, these results suggest that observers use spatial orientation signals when estimating motion direction. More broadly, our findings indicate that the cortical representation of low-level visual features, such as motion direction, can reflect a combination of several qualitatively distinct signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Chetverikov
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
| | - Janneke F M Jehee
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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31
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Cheng FL, Horikawa T, Majima K, Tanaka M, Abdelhack M, Aoki SC, Hirano J, Kamitani Y. Reconstructing visual illusory experiences from human brain activity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadj3906. [PMID: 37967184 PMCID: PMC10651116 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj3906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
Visual illusions provide valuable insights into the brain's interpretation of the world given sensory inputs. However, the precise manner in which brain activity translates into illusory experiences remains largely unknown. Here, we leverage a brain decoding technique combined with deep neural network (DNN) representations to reconstruct illusory percepts as images from brain activity. The reconstruction model was trained on natural images to establish a link between brain activity and perceptual features and then tested on two types of illusions: illusory lines and neon color spreading. Reconstructions revealed lines and colors consistent with illusory experiences, which varied across the source visual cortical areas. This framework offers a way to materialize subjective experiences, shedding light on the brain's internal representations of the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan L. Cheng
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
- ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Soraku, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
| | - Tomoyasu Horikawa
- ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Soraku, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
| | - Kei Majima
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Misato Tanaka
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Mohamed Abdelhack
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Shuntaro C. Aoki
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Jin Hirano
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Yukiyasu Kamitani
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
- ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Soraku, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
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32
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Phangwiwat T, Punchongham P, Wongsawat Y, Chatnuntawech I, Wang S, Chunharas C, Sprague T, Woodman GF, Itthipuripat S. Sustained attention operates via dissociable neural mechanisms across different eccentric locations. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3562186. [PMID: 37986807 PMCID: PMC10659535 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3562186/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
In primates, foveal and peripheral vision have distinct neural architectures and functions. However, it has been debated if selective attention operates via the same or different neural mechanisms across eccentricities. We tested these alternative accounts by examining the effects of selective attention on the steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) and the fronto-parietal signal measured via EEG from human subjects performing a sustained visuospatial attention task. With a negligible level of eye movements, both SSVEP and SND exhibited the heterogeneous patterns of attentional modulations across eccentricities. Specifically, the attentional modulations of these signals peaked at the parafoveal locations and such modulations wore off as visual stimuli appeared closer to the fovea or further away towards the periphery. However, with a relatively higher level of eye movements, the heterogeneous patterns of attentional modulations of these neural signals were less robust. These data demonstrate that the top-down influence of covert visuospatial attention on early sensory processing in human cortex depends on eccentricity and the level of saccadic responses. Taken together, the results suggest that sustained visuospatial attention operates differently across different eccentric locations, providing new understanding of how attention augments sensory representations regardless of where the attended stimulus appears.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanagrit Phangwiwat
- Department of Computer Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
| | - Phond Punchongham
- Department of Computer Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
| | - Yodchanan Wongsawat
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University
| | - Itthi Chatnuntawech
- National Nanotechnology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency
| | - Sisi Wang
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
| | - Chaipat Chunharas
- Chula Neuroscience Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society
| | - Thomas Sprague
- Psychological and Brain Science, 251, University of California Santa Barbara
| | | | - Sirawaj Itthipuripat
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
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33
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Amaral L, Thomas P, Amedi A, Striem-Amit E. Longitudinal stability of individual brain plasticity patterns in blindness. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.01.565196. [PMID: 37986779 PMCID: PMC10659359 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.01.565196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The primary visual cortex (V1) in individuals born blind is engaged in a wide spectrum of tasks and sensory modalities, including audition, touch, language, and memory. This widespread involvement raises questions regarding the constancy of its role and whether it might exhibit flexibility in its function over time, connecting to diverse network functions in response to task-specific demands. This would suggest that reorganized V1 takes on a role similar to cognitive multiple-demand system regions. Alternatively, it is possible that the varying patterns of plasticity observed in the blind V1 can be attributed to individual factors, whereby different blind individuals recruit V1 for different functions, highlighting the immense idiosyncrasy of plasticity. In support of this second account, we have recently shown that V1 functional connectivity varies greatly across blind individuals. But do these represent stable individual patterns of plasticity or merely instantaneous changes, for a multiple-demand system now inhabiting V1? Here we tested if individual connectivity patterns from the visual cortex of blind individuals are stable over time. We show that over two years, fMRI functional connectivity from the primary visual cortex is unique and highly stable in a small sample of repeatedly sampled congenitally blind individuals. Further, using multivoxel pattern analysis, we demonstrate that the unique reorganization patterns of these individuals allow decoding of participant identity. Together with recent evidence for substantial individual differences in visual cortex connectivity, this indicates there may be a consistent role for the visual cortex in blindness, which may differ for each individual. Further, it suggests that the variability in visual reorganization in blindness across individuals could be used to seek stable neuromarkers for sight rehabilitation and assistive approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lénia Amaral
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Peyton Thomas
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Amir Amedi
- Ivcher School of Psychology, The Institute for Brain, Mind and Technology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
- The Ruth & Meir Rosenthal Brain Imaging Center, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Ella Striem-Amit
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA
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Tangtartharakul G, Morgan CA, Rushton SK, Schwarzkopf DS. Retinotopic connectivity maps of human visual cortex with unconstrained eye movements. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:5221-5237. [PMID: 37555758 PMCID: PMC10543111 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Human visual cortex contains topographic visual field maps whose organization can be revealed with retinotopic mapping. Unfortunately, constraints posed by standard mapping hinder its use in patients, atypical subject groups, and individuals at either end of the lifespan. This severely limits the conclusions we can draw about visual processing in such individuals. Here, we present a novel data-driven method to estimate connective fields, resulting in fine-grained maps of the functional connectivity between brain areas. We find that inhibitory connectivity fields accompany, and often surround facilitatory fields. The visual field extent of these inhibitory subfields falls off with cortical magnification. We further show that our method is robust to large eye movements and myopic defocus. Importantly, freed from the controlled stimulus conditions in standard mapping experiments, using entertaining stimuli and unconstrained eye movements our approach can generate retinotopic maps, including the periphery visual field hitherto only possible to map with special stimulus displays. Generally, our results show that the connective field method can gain knowledge about retinotopic architecture of visual cortex in patients and participants where this is at best difficult and confounded, if not impossible, with current methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gene Tangtartharakul
- School of Optometry and Vision ScienceUniversity of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
- School of Psychology and Centre for Brain ResearchUniversity of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
| | - Catherine A. Morgan
- School of Psychology and Centre for Brain ResearchUniversity of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
- Centre for Advanced MRIUniServices LimitedAucklandNew Zealand
| | | | - D. Samuel Schwarzkopf
- School of Optometry and Vision ScienceUniversity of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
- Experimental PsychologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
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35
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Xu Y. Parietal-driven visual working memory representation in occipito-temporal cortex. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4516-4523.e5. [PMID: 37741281 PMCID: PMC10615870 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Human fMRI studies have documented extensively that the content of visual working memory (VWM) can be reliably decoded from fMRI voxel response patterns during the delay period in both the occipito-temporal cortex (OTC), including early visual areas (EVC), and the posterior parietal cortex (PPC).1,2,3,4 Further work has revealed that VWM signal in OTC is largely sustained by feedback from associative areas such as prefrontal cortex (PFC) and PPC.4,5,6,7,8,9 It is unclear, however, if feedback during VWM simply restores sensory representations initially formed in OTC or if it can reshape the representational content of OTC during VWM delay. Taking advantage of a recent finding showing that object representational geometry differs between OTC and PPC in perception,10 here we find that, during VWM delay, the object representational geometry in OTC becomes more aligned with that of PPC during perception than with itself during perception. This finding supports the role of feedback in shaping the content of VWM in OTC, with the VWM content of OTC more determined by information retained in PPC than by the sensory information initially encoded in OTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoda Xu
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 100 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
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36
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Zhao K, Liu M, Yang F, Shu X, Sun G, Liu R, Zhao Y, Wang F, Xu B. Reorganization of the structural connectome during vision recovery in pituitary adenoma patients post-transsphenoidal surgery. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:10813-10819. [PMID: 37702246 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Pituitary adenomas (PAs) can exert pressure on the optic apparatus, leading to visual impairment. A subset of patients may observe a swift improvement in their vision following surgery. Nevertheless, the alterations in the structural connectome during the early postoperative period remain largely unexplored. The research employed probabilistic tractography, graph theoretical analysis, and statistical methods on preoperative and postoperative structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor images from 13 PA patients. Postoperative analysis revealed an increase in global and local efficiency, signifying improved network capacity for parallel information transfer and fault tolerance, respectively. Enhanced clustering coefficient and reduced shortest path length were also observed, suggesting a more regular network organization and shortened communication steps within the brain network. Furthermore, alterations in node graphical properties were detected, implying a restructuring of the network's control points, possibly contributing to more efficient visual processing. These findings propose that rapid vision recovery post-surgery may be associated with significant reorganization of the brain's structural connectome, enhancing the efficiency and adaptability of the network, thereby facilitating improved visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Zhao
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | - Minghang Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | - Fuxing Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, Fujian 362002, China
| | - Xujun Shu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210016, China
| | - Guochen Sun
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | - Ruoyu Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | - Yue Zhao
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Hainan hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Sanya, Hainan 572013, China
| | - Fuyu Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | - Bainan Xu
- Department of Neurosurgery, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
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37
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Chen N, Ai H, Lu X. Context-dependent attentional spotlight in pulvinar-V1 interaction. Neuroimage 2023; 279:120341. [PMID: 37619793 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Spatial attention is often described as a mental spotlight that enhances information processing at the attended location. Using fMRI, we investigated background connectivity between the pulvinar and V1 in relation to focused versus diffused attention allocation, in weak and strong crowding contexts. Our findings revealed that focused attention led to enhanced correlations between the pulvinar and V1. Notably, this modulation was initiated by the pulvinar, and the strength of the modulation was dependent on the saliency of the target. These findings suggest that the pulvinar initiates information reweighting to V1, which underlies attentional selection in cluttered scenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nihong Chen
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China; THU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.
| | - Hailin Ai
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
| | - Xincheng Lu
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
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38
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Huang L, Wang J, He Q, Li C, Sun Y, Seger CA, Zhang X. A source for category-induced global effects of feature-based attention in human prefrontal cortex. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113080. [PMID: 37659080 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Global effects of feature-based attention (FBA) are generally limited to stimuli sharing the same or similar features, as hypothesized in the "feature-similarity gain model." Visual perception, however, often reflects categories acquired via experience/learning; whether the global-FBA effect can be induced by the categorized features remains unclear. Here, human subjects were trained to classify motion directions into two discrete categories and perform a classical motion-based attention task. We found a category-induced global-FBA effect in both the middle temporal area (MT+) and frontoparietal areas, where attention to a motion direction globally spread to unattended motion directions within the same category, but not to those in a different category. Effective connectivity analysis showed that the category-induced global-FBA effect in MT+ was derived by feedback from the inferior frontal junction (IFJ). Altogether, our study reveals a category-induced global-FBA effect and identifies a source for this effect in human prefrontal cortex, implying that FBA is of greater ecological significance than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Huang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Jingyi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Qionghua He
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Chu Li
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Yueling Sun
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China
| | - Carol A Seger
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Xilin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, China.
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39
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Du C, Fu K, Wen B, He H. Topographic representation of visually evoked emotional experiences in the human cerebral cortex. iScience 2023; 26:107571. [PMID: 37664621 PMCID: PMC10470388 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Affective neuroscience seeks to uncover the neural underpinnings of emotions that humans experience. However, it remains unclear whether an affective space underlies the discrete emotion categories in the human brain, and how it relates to the hypothesized affective dimensions. To address this question, we developed a voxel-wise encoding model to investigate the cortical organization of human emotions. Results revealed that the distributed emotion representations are constructed through a fundamental affective space. We further compared each dimension of this space to 14 hypothesized affective dimensions, and found that many affective dimensions are captured by the fundamental affective space. Our results suggest that emotional experiences are represented by broadly spatial overlapping cortical patterns and form smooth gradients across large areas of the cortex. This finding reveals the specific structure of the affective space and its relationship to hypothesized affective dimensions, while highlighting the distributed nature of emotional representations in the cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changde Du
- Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, State Key Laboratory of Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Kaicheng Fu
- Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, State Key Laboratory of Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Bincheng Wen
- Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Huiguang He
- Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, State Key Laboratory of Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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40
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Cooper EA. The Perceptual Science of Augmented Reality. Annu Rev Vis Sci 2023; 9:455-478. [PMID: 36944311 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-vision-111022-123758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/23/2023]
Abstract
Augmented reality (AR) systems aim to alter our view of the world and enable us to see things that are not actually there. The resulting discrepancy between perception and reality can create compelling entertainment and can support innovative approaches to education, guidance, and assistive tools. However, building an AR system that effectively integrates with our natural visual experience is hard. AR systems often suffer from visual limitations and artifacts, and addressing these flaws requires basic knowledge of perception. At the same time, AR system development can serve as a catalyst that drives innovative new research in perceptual science. This review describes recent perceptual research pertinent to and driven by modern AR systems, with the goal of highlighting thought-provoking areas of inquiry and open questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A Cooper
- Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA;
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41
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Jia K, Goebel R, Kourtzi Z. Ultra-High Field Imaging of Human Visual Cognition. Annu Rev Vis Sci 2023; 9:479-500. [PMID: 37137282 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-vision-111022-123830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the key methodology for mapping the functions of the human brain in a noninvasive manner, is limited by low temporal and spatial resolution. Recent advances in ultra-high field (UHF) fMRI provide a mesoscopic (i.e., submillimeter resolution) tool that allows us to probe laminar and columnar circuits, distinguish bottom-up versus top-down pathways, and map small subcortical areas. We review recent work demonstrating that UHF fMRI provides a robust methodology for imaging the brain across cortical depths and columns that provides insights into the brain's organization and functions at unprecedented spatial resolution, advancing our understanding of the fine-scale computations and interareal communication that support visual cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Jia
- Department of Neurobiology, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom;
| | - Rainer Goebel
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Zoe Kourtzi
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom;
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42
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Leech R, Vos De Wael R, Váša F, Xu T, Austin Benn R, Scholz R, Braga RM, Milham MP, Royer J, Bernhardt BC, Jones EJH, Jefferies E, Margulies DS, Smallwood J. Variation in spatial dependencies across the cortical mantle discriminates the functional behaviour of primary and association cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5656. [PMID: 37704600 PMCID: PMC10499916 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41334-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent theories of cortical organisation suggest features of function emerge from the spatial arrangement of brain regions. For example, association cortex is located furthest from systems involved in action and perception. Association cortex is also 'interdigitated' with adjacent regions having different patterns of functional connectivity. It is assumed that topographic properties, such as distance between regions, constrains their functions, however, we lack a formal description of how this occurs. Here we use variograms, a quantification of spatial autocorrelation, to profile how function changes with the distance between cortical regions. We find function changes with distance more gradually within sensory-motor cortex than association cortex. Importantly, systems within the same type of cortex (e.g., fronto-parietal and default mode networks) have similar profiles. Primary and association cortex, therefore, are differentiated by how function changes over space, emphasising the value of topographical features of a region when estimating its contribution to cognition and behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Leech
- Centre for Neuroimaging Science, King's College London, London, UK.
| | | | - František Váša
- Centre for Neuroimaging Science, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Ting Xu
- Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, USA
| | - R Austin Benn
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (UMR 8002), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | | | - Rodrigo M Braga
- Neurology, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Michael P Milham
- Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, USA
| | - Jessica Royer
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Boris C Bernhardt
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Emily J H Jones
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK
| | | | - Daniel S Margulies
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (UMR 8002), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Université de Paris, Paris, France
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43
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Ai H, Cui Y, Chen N. A "Bandwidth" in cortical representations of multiple faces. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:10028-10035. [PMID: 37522262 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The human ability to process multiple items simultaneously can be constrained by the extent to which those items are represented by distinct neural populations. In the current study, we used fMRI to investigate the cortical representation of multiple faces. We found that the addition of a second face to occupy both visual hemifields led to an increased response, whereas a further addition of faces within the same visual hemifield resulted in a decreased response. This pattern was widely observed in the occipital visual cortex, the intraparietal sulcus, and extended to the posterior inferotemporal cortex. A parallel trend was found in a behavioral change-detection task, revealing a perceptual "bandwidth" of multiface processing. The sensitivity to face clutter gradually decreased along the ventral pathway, supporting the notion of a buildup of clutter-tolerance representation. These cortical response patterns to face clutters suggest that adding signals with nonoverlapping cortical representation enhanced perception, while adding signals that competed for representation resources impaired perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailin Ai
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China
| | - Yuwei Cui
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China
| | - Nihong Chen
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China
- THU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, P. R. China
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44
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Kam KY, Chang DHF. Sensory eye dominance plasticity in the human adult visual cortex. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1250493. [PMID: 37746154 PMCID: PMC10513037 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1250493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory eye dominance occurs when the visual cortex weighs one eye's data more heavily than those of the other. Encouragingly, mechanisms underlying sensory eye dominance in human adults retain a certain degree of plasticity. Notably, perceptual training using dichoptically presented motion signal-noise stimuli has been shown to elicit changes in sensory eye dominance both in visually impaired and normal observers. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these learning-driven improvements are not well understood. Here, we measured changes in fMRI responses before and after a five-day visual training protocol to determine the neuroplastic changes along the visual cascade. Fifty visually normal observers received training on a dichoptic or binocular variant of a signal-in-noise (left-right) motion discrimination task over five consecutive days. We show significant shifts in sensory eye dominance following training, but only for those who received dichoptic training. Pattern analysis of fMRI responses revealed that responses of V1 and hMT+ predicted sensory eye dominance for both groups, but only before training. After dichoptic (but not binocular) visual training, responses of V1 changed significantly, and were no longer able to predict sensory eye dominance. Our data suggest that perceptual training-driven changes in eye dominance are driven by a reweighting of the two eyes' data in the primary visual cortex. These findings may provide insight into developing region-targeted rehabilitative paradigms for the visually impaired, particularly those with severe binocular imbalance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Yee Kam
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Dorita H. F. Chang
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
- The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
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45
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Ribeiro FL, York A, Zavitz E, Bollmann S, Rosa MGP, Puckett A. Variability of visual field maps in human early extrastriate cortex challenges the canonical model of organization of V2 and V3. eLife 2023; 12:e86439. [PMID: 37580963 PMCID: PMC10427147 DOI: 10.7554/elife.86439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual field maps in human early extrastriate areas (V2 and V3) are traditionally thought to form mirror-image representations which surround the primary visual cortex (V1). According to this scheme, V2 and V3 form nearly symmetrical halves with respect to the calcarine sulcus, with the dorsal halves representing lower contralateral quadrants, and the ventral halves representing upper contralateral quadrants. This arrangement is considered to be consistent across individuals, and thus predictable with reasonable accuracy using templates. However, data that deviate from this expected pattern have been observed, but mainly treated as artifactual. Here, we systematically investigate individual variability in the visual field maps of human early visual cortex using the 7T Human Connectome Project (HCP) retinotopy dataset. Our results demonstrate substantial and principled inter-individual variability. Visual field representation in the dorsal portions of V2 and V3 was more variable than in their ventral counterparts, including substantial departures from the expected mirror-symmetrical patterns. In addition, left hemisphere retinotopic maps were more variable than those in the right hemisphere. Surprisingly, only one-third of individuals had maps that conformed to the expected pattern in the left hemisphere. Visual field sign analysis further revealed that in many individuals the area conventionally identified as dorsal V3 shows a discontinuity in the mirror-image representation of the retina, associated with a Y-shaped lower vertical representation. Our findings challenge the current view that inter-individual variability in early extrastriate cortex is negligible, and that the dorsal portions of V2 and V3 are roughly mirror images of their ventral counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Lenita Ribeiro
- School of Psychology, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Ashley York
- School of Psychology, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Elizabeth Zavitz
- Department of Physiology, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute; Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash UniversityClaytonAustralia
| | - Steffen Bollmann
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- Queensland Digital Health Centre, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Marcello GP Rosa
- Department of Physiology, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute; Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
| | - Alexander Puckett
- School of Psychology, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
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Seydell-Greenwald A, Wang X, Newport EL, Bi Y, Striem-Amit E. Spoken language processing activates the primary visual cortex. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289671. [PMID: 37566582 PMCID: PMC10420367 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Primary visual cortex (V1) is generally thought of as a low-level sensory area that primarily processes basic visual features. Although there is evidence for multisensory effects on its activity, these are typically found for the processing of simple sounds and their properties, for example spatially or temporally-congruent simple sounds. However, in congenitally blind individuals, V1 is involved in language processing, with no evidence of major changes in anatomical connectivity that could explain this seemingly drastic functional change. This is at odds with current accounts of neural plasticity, which emphasize the role of connectivity and conserved function in determining a neural tissue's role even after atypical early experiences. To reconcile what appears to be unprecedented functional reorganization with known accounts of plasticity limitations, we tested whether V1's multisensory roles include responses to spoken language in sighted individuals. Using fMRI, we found that V1 in normally sighted individuals was indeed activated by comprehensible spoken sentences as compared to an incomprehensible reversed speech control condition, and more strongly so in the left compared to the right hemisphere. Activation in V1 for language was also significant and comparable for abstract and concrete words, suggesting it was not driven by visual imagery. Last, this activation did not stem from increased attention to the auditory onset of words, nor was it correlated with attentional arousal ratings, making general attention accounts an unlikely explanation. Together these findings suggest that V1 responds to spoken language even in sighted individuals, reflecting the binding of multisensory high-level signals, potentially to predict visual input. This capability might be the basis for the strong V1 language activation observed in people born blind, re-affirming the notion that plasticity is guided by pre-existing connectivity and abilities in the typically developed brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Seydell-Greenwald
- Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Xiaoying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Elissa L. Newport
- Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Yanchao Bi
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ella Striem-Amit
- Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States of America
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Du J, DiNicola LM, Angeli PA, Saadon-Grosman N, Sun W, Kaiser S, Ladopoulou J, Xue A, Yeo BTT, Eldaief MC, Buckner RL. Within-Individual Organization of the Human Cerebral Cortex: Networks, Global Topography, and Function. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.08.552437. [PMID: 37609246 PMCID: PMC10441314 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.08.552437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
The human cerebral cortex is populated by specialized regions that are organized into networks. Here we estimated networks using a Multi-Session Hierarchical Bayesian Model (MS-HBM) applied to intensively sampled within-individual functional MRI (fMRI) data. The network estimation procedure was initially developed and tested in two participants (each scanned 31 times) and then prospectively applied to 15 new participants (each scanned 8 to 11 times). Detailed analysis of the networks revealed a global organization. Locally organized first-order sensory and motor networks were surrounded by spatially adjacent second-order networks that also linked to distant regions. Third-order networks each possessed regions distributed widely throughout association cortex. Moreover, regions of distinct third-order networks displayed side-by-side juxtapositions with a pattern that repeated similarly across multiple cortical zones. We refer to these as Supra-Areal Association Megaclusters (SAAMs). Within each SAAM, two candidate control regions were typically adjacent to three separate domain-specialized regions. Independent task data were analyzed to explore functional response properties. The somatomotor and visual first-order networks responded to body movements and visual stimulation, respectively. A subset of the second-order networks responded to transients in an oddball detection task, consistent with a role in orienting to salient or novel events. The third-order networks, including distinct regions within each SAAM, showed two levels of functional specialization. Regions linked to candidate control networks responded to working memory load across multiple stimulus domains. The remaining regions within each SAAM did not track working memory load but rather dissociated across language, social, and spatial / episodic processing domains. These results support a model of the cerebral cortex in which progressively higher-order networks nest outwards from primary sensory and motor cortices. Within the apex zones of association cortex there is specialization of large-scale networks that divides domain-flexible from domain-specialized regions repeatedly across parietal, temporal, and prefrontal cortices. We discuss implications of these findings including how repeating organizational motifs may emerge during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingnan Du
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Lauren M DiNicola
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Peter A Angeli
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Noam Saadon-Grosman
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Wendy Sun
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Stephanie Kaiser
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Joanna Ladopoulou
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Aihuiping Xue
- Centre for Sleep & Cognition & Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - B T Thomas Yeo
- Centre for Sleep & Cognition & Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Mark C Eldaief
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Randy L Buckner
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
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48
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Grossberg S. How children learn to understand language meanings: a neural model of adult-child multimodal interactions in real-time. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1216479. [PMID: 37599779 PMCID: PMC10435915 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1216479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
This article describes a biological neural network model that can be used to explain how children learn to understand language meanings about the perceptual and affective events that they consciously experience. This kind of learning often occurs when a child interacts with an adult teacher to learn language meanings about events that they experience together. Multiple types of self-organizing brain processes are involved in learning language meanings, including processes that control conscious visual perception, joint attention, object learning and conscious recognition, cognitive working memory, cognitive planning, emotion, cognitive-emotional interactions, volition, and goal-oriented actions. The article shows how all of these brain processes interact to enable the learning of language meanings to occur. The article also contrasts these human capabilities with AI models such as ChatGPT. The current model is called the ChatSOME model, where SOME abbreviates Self-Organizing MEaning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Grossberg
- Center for Adaptive Systems, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
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49
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Pavan A, Malloni WM, Frank SM, Wein S, Donato R, Greenlee MW. Lack of orientation specific adaptation to vertically oriented Glass patterns in human visual cortex: an fMRI adaptation investigation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12362. [PMID: 37524748 PMCID: PMC10390522 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39247-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The perception of coherent form configurations in natural scenes relies on the activity of early visual areas that respond to local orientation cues. Subsequently, high-level visual areas pool these local signals to construct a global representation of the initial visual input. However, it is still debated whether neurons in the early visual cortex respond also to global form features. Glass patterns (GPs) are visual stimuli employed to investigate local and global form processing and consist of randomly distributed dots pairs called dipoles arranged to form specific global configurations. In the current study, we used GPs and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) adaptation to reveal the visual areas that subserve the processing of oriented GPs. Specifically, we adapted participants to vertically oriented GP, then we presented test GPs having either the same or different orientations with respect to the adapting GP. We hypothesized that if local form features are processed exclusively by early visual areas and global form by higher-order visual areas, then the effect of visual adaptation should be more pronounced in higher tier visual areas as it requires global processing of the pattern. Contrary to this expectation, our results revealed that adaptation to GPs is robust in early visual areas (V1, V2, and V3), but not in higher tier visual areas (V3AB and V4v), suggesting that form cues in oriented GPs are primarily derived from local-processing mechanisms that originate in V1. Finally, adaptation to vertically oriented GPs causes a modification in the BOLD response within early visual areas, regardless of the relative orientations of the adapting and test stimuli, indicating a lack of orientation selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Pavan
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat, 5, 40127, Bologna, Italy.
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK.
| | - Wilhelm M Malloni
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian M Frank
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Simon Wein
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Rita Donato
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Colégio de Jesus, Rua Inácio Duarte 65, 3000-481, Coimbra, Portugal
- CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua Colégio Novo, 3000-115, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Mark W Greenlee
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
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Markow ZE, Trobaugh JW, Richter EJ, Tripathy K, Rafferty SM, Svoboda AM, Schroeder ML, Burns-Yocum TM, Bergonzi KM, Chevillet MA, Mugler EM, Eggebrecht AT, Culver JP. Ultra-high density imaging arrays for diffuse optical tomography of human brain improve resolution, signal-to-noise, and information decoding. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.21.549920. [PMID: 37547013 PMCID: PMC10401969 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.21.549920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has dramatically advanced non-invasive human brain mapping and decoding. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) non-invasively measure blood oxygen fluctuations related to brain activity, like fMRI, at the brain surface, using more-lightweight equipment that circumvents ergonomic and logistical limitations of fMRI. HD-DOT grids have smaller inter-optode spacing (∼13 mm) than sparse fNIRS (∼30 mm) and therefore provide higher image quality, with spatial resolution ∼1/2 that of fMRI. Herein, simulations indicated reducing inter-optode spacing to 6.5 mm would further improve image quality and noise-resolution tradeoff, with diminishing returns below 6.5 mm. We then constructed an ultra-high-density DOT system (6.5-mm spacing) with 140 dB dynamic range that imaged stimulus-evoked activations with 30-50% higher spatial resolution and repeatable multi-focal activity with excellent agreement with participant-matched fMRI. Further, this system decoded visual stimulus position with 19-35% lower error than previous HD-DOT, throughout occipital cortex.
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