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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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Meehan CE, Embury CM, Wiesman AI, Schantell M, Wolfson SL, O’Neill J, Swindells S, Johnson CM, May PE, Murman DL, Wilson TW. Convergent and divergent oscillatory aberrations during visuospatial processing in HIV-related cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:3181-3192. [PMID: 35855581 PMCID: PMC10016044 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac268] [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: 03/18/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Adults with HIV frequently develop a form of mild cognitive impairment known as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), but presumably cognitive decline in older persons with HIV could also be attributable to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, distinguishing these two conditions in individual patients is exceedingly difficult, as the distinct neural and neuropsychological features are poorly understood and most studies to date have only investigated HAND or AD spectrum (ADS) disorders in isolation. The current study examined the neural dynamics underlying visuospatial processing using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in 31 biomarker-confirmed patients on the ADS, 26 older participants who met criteria for HAND, and 31 older cognitively normal controls. MEG data were examined in the time-frequency domain, and a data-driven approach was utilized to identify the neural dynamics underlying visuospatial processing. Both clinical groups (ADS/HAND) were significantly less accurate than controls on the task and exhibited stronger prefrontal theta oscillations compared to controls. Regarding disease-specific alterations, those with HAND exhibited stronger alpha oscillations than those on the ADS in frontoparietal and temporal cortices. These results indicate both common and unique neurophysiological alterations among those with ADS disorders and HAND in regions serving visuospatial processing and suggest the underlying neuropathological features are at least partially distinct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe E Meehan
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska – Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
| | - Christine M Embury
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
| | - Alex I Wiesman
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Mikki Schantell
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Sara L Wolfson
- Geriatrics Medicine Clinic, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Jennifer O’Neill
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Susan Swindells
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Craig M Johnson
- Department of Radiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Pamela E May
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Daniel L Murman
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
- Memory Disorders & Behavioral Neurology Program, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Corresponding author: Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 14090 Mother Teresa Ln., Boys Town, NE 68010, USA.
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White matter dissection and structural connectivity of the human vertical occipital fasciculus to link vision-associated brain cortex. Sci Rep 2020; 10:820. [PMID: 31965011 PMCID: PMC6972933 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-57837-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF) is an association fiber tract coursing vertically at the posterolateral corner of the brain. It is re-evaluated as a major fiber tract to link the dorsal and ventral visual stream. Although previous tractography studies showed the VOF’s cortical projections fall in the dorsal and ventral visual areas, the post-mortem dissection study for the validation remains limited. First, to validate the previous tractography data, we here performed the white matter dissection in post-mortem brains and demonstrated the VOF’s fiber bundles coursing between the V3A/B areas and the posterior fusiform gyrus. Secondly, we analyzed the VOF’s structural connectivity with diffusion tractography to link vision-associated cortical areas of the HCP MMP1.0 atlas, an updated map of the human cerebral cortex. Based on the criteria the VOF courses laterally to the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) and craniocaudally at the posterolateral corner of the brain, we reconstructed the VOF’s fiber tracts and found the widespread projections to the visual cortex. These findings could suggest a crucial role of VOF in integrating visual information to link the broad visual cortex as well as in connecting the dual visual stream.
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Mikellidou K, Frijia F, Montanaro D, Greco V, Burr DC, Morrone MC. Cortical BOLD responses to moderate- and high-speed motion in the human visual cortex. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8357. [PMID: 29844426 PMCID: PMC5974286 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26507-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the BOLD response of visual cortical and sub-cortical regions to fast drifting motion presented over wide fields, including the far periphery. Stimuli were sinusoidal gratings of 50% contrast moving at moderate and very high speeds (38 and 570 °/s), projected to a large field of view (~60°). Both stimuli generated strong and balanced responses in the lateral geniculate nucleus and the superior colliculus. In visual cortical areas, responses were evaluated at three different eccentricities: central 0-15°; peripheral 20-30°; and extreme peripheral 30-60°. "Ventral stream" areas (V2, V3, V4) preferred moderate-speeds in the central visual field, while motion area MT+ responded equally well to both speeds at all eccentricities. In all other areas and eccentricities BOLD responses were significant and equally strong for both types of moving stimuli. Support vector machine showed that the direction of the fast-speed motion could be successfully decoded from the BOLD response in all visual areas, suggesting that responses are mediated by motion mechanisms rather than being an unspecific preference for fast rate of flicker. The results show that the visual cortex responds to very fast motion, at speeds generated when we move our eyes rapidly, or when moving objects pass by closely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyriaki Mikellidou
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Francesca Frijia
- Unit of Neuroradiology, Fondazione CNR/Regione Toscana G. Monasterio, Pisa, Italy
| | - Domenico Montanaro
- Unit of Neuroradiology, Fondazione CNR/Regione Toscana G. Monasterio, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - David C Burr
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Neuroscience Institute, CNR, Pisa, Italy
| | - Maria Concetta Morrone
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy
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Mackey WE, Winawer J, Curtis CE. Visual field map clusters in human frontoparietal cortex. eLife 2017; 6:e22974. [PMID: 28628004 PMCID: PMC5491263 DOI: 10.7554/elife.22974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2016] [Accepted: 06/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The visual neurosciences have made enormous progress in recent decades, in part because of the ability to drive visual areas by their sensory inputs, allowing researchers to define visual areas reliably across individuals and across species. Similar strategies for parcellating higher-order cortex have proven elusive. Here, using a novel experimental task and nonlinear population receptive field modeling, we map and characterize the topographic organization of several regions in human frontoparietal cortex. We discover representations of both polar angle and eccentricity that are organized into clusters, similar to visual cortex, where multiple gradients of polar angle of the contralateral visual field share a confluent fovea. This is striking because neural activity in frontoparietal cortex is believed to reflect higher-order cognitive functions rather than external sensory processing. Perhaps the spatial topography in frontoparietal cortex parallels the retinotopic organization of sensory cortex to enable an efficient interface between perception and higher-order cognitive processes. Critically, these visual maps constitute well-defined anatomical units that future studies of frontoparietal cortex can reliably target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wayne E Mackey
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States
| | - Jonathan Winawer
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, United States
| | - Clayton E Curtis
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, United States
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