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Topfstedt CE, Wollenberg L, Schenk T. Training enables substantial decoupling of visual attention and saccade preparation. Vision Res 2024; 221:108424. [PMID: 38744033 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2024.108424] [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: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Visual attention is typically shifted toward the targets of upcoming saccadic eye movements. This observation is commonly interpreted in terms of an obligatory coupling between attentional selection and oculomotor programming. Here, we investigated whether this coupling is facilitated by a habitual expectation of spatial congruence between visual and motor targets. To this end, we conducted a dual-task (i.e., concurrent saccade task and visual discrimination task) experiment in which male and female participants were trained to either anticipate spatial congruence or incongruence between a saccade target and an attention probe stimulus. To assess training-induced effects of expectation on premotor attention allocation, participants subsequently completed a test phase in which the attention probe position was randomized. Results revealed that discrimination performance was systematically biased toward the expected attention probe position, irrespective of whether this position matched the saccade target or not. Overall, our findings demonstrate that visual attention can be substantially decoupled from ongoing oculomotor programming and suggest an important role of habitual expectations in the attention-action coupling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christof Elias Topfstedt
- Klinische Neuropsychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstraße 13, 80802 Munich, Germany
| | - Luca Wollenberg
- Klinische Neuropsychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstraße 13, 80802 Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Schenk
- Klinische Neuropsychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstraße 13, 80802 Munich, Germany.
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2
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Lundqvist M, Miller EK, Nordmark J, Liljefors J, Herman P. Beta: bursts of cognition. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:662-676. [PMID: 38658218 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.03.010] [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: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Beta oscillations are linked to the control of goal-directed processing of sensory information and the timing of motor output. Recent evidence demonstrates they are not sustained but organized into intermittent high-power bursts mediating timely functional inhibition. This implies there is a considerable moment-to-moment variation in the neural dynamics supporting cognition. Beta bursts thus offer new opportunities for studying how sensory inputs are selectively processed, reshaped by inhibitory cognitive operations and ultimately result in motor actions. Recent method advances reveal diversity in beta bursts that provide deeper insights into their function and the underlying neural circuit activity motifs. We propose that brain-wide, spatiotemporal patterns of beta bursting reflect various cognitive operations and that their dynamics reveal nonlinear aspects of cortical processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikael Lundqvist
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden; The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Earl K Miller
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Jonatan Nordmark
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Johan Liljefors
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Pawel Herman
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; Digital Futures, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
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3
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Hanning NM, Himmelberg MM, Carrasco M. Presaccadic Attention Depends on Eye Movement Direction and Is Related to V1 Cortical Magnification. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1023232023. [PMID: 38316562 PMCID: PMC10957215 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1023-23.2023] [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: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
With every saccadic eye movement, humans bring new information into their fovea to be processed with high visual acuity. Notably, perception is enhanced already before a relevant item is foveated: During saccade preparation, presaccadic attention shifts to the upcoming fixation location, which can be measured via behavioral correlates such as enhanced visual performance or modulations of sensory feature tuning. The coupling between saccadic eye movements and attention is assumed to be robust and mandatory and considered a mechanism facilitating the integration of pre- and postsaccadic information. However, until recently it had not been investigated as a function of saccade direction. Here, we measured contrast response functions during fixation and saccade preparation in male and female observers and found that the pronounced response gain benefit typically elicited by presaccadic attention is selectively lacking before upward saccades at the group level-some observers even showed a cost. Individual observer's sensitivity before upward saccades was negatively related to their amount of surface area in primary visual cortex representing the saccade target, suggesting a potential compensatory mechanism that optimizes the use of the limited neural resources processing the upper vertical meridian. Our results raise the question of how perceptual continuity is achieved and how upward saccades can be accurately targeted despite the lack of-theoretically required-presaccadic attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Hanning
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin 12489, Germany
| | - Marc M Himmelberg
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
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4
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Weng G, Clark K, Akbarian A, Noudoost B, Nategh N. Time-varying generalized linear models: characterizing and decoding neuronal dynamics in higher visual areas. Front Comput Neurosci 2024; 18:1273053. [PMID: 38348287 PMCID: PMC10859875 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2024.1273053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
To create a behaviorally relevant representation of the visual world, neurons in higher visual areas exhibit dynamic response changes to account for the time-varying interactions between external (e.g., visual input) and internal (e.g., reward value) factors. The resulting high-dimensional representational space poses challenges for precisely quantifying individual factors' contributions to the representation and readout of sensory information during a behavior. The widely used point process generalized linear model (GLM) approach provides a powerful framework for a quantitative description of neuronal processing as a function of various sensory and non-sensory inputs (encoding) as well as linking particular response components to particular behaviors (decoding), at the level of single trials and individual neurons. However, most existing variations of GLMs assume the neural systems to be time-invariant, making them inadequate for modeling nonstationary characteristics of neuronal sensitivity in higher visual areas. In this review, we summarize some of the existing GLM variations, with a focus on time-varying extensions. We highlight their applications to understanding neural representations in higher visual areas and decoding transient neuronal sensitivity as well as linking physiology to behavior through manipulation of model components. This time-varying class of statistical models provide valuable insights into the neural basis of various visual behaviors in higher visual areas and hold significant potential for uncovering the fundamental computational principles that govern neuronal processing underlying various behaviors in different regions of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geyu Weng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Kelsey Clark
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Amir Akbarian
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Behrad Noudoost
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Neda Nategh
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
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5
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Hüer J, Saxena P, Treue S. Pathway-selective optogenetics reveals the functional anatomy of top-down attentional modulation in the macaque visual cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2304511121. [PMID: 38194453 PMCID: PMC10801865 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304511121] [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: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Spatial attention represents a powerful top-down influence on sensory responses in primate visual cortical areas. The frontal eye field (FEF) has emerged as a key candidate area for the source of this modulation. However, it is unclear whether the FEF exerts its effects via its direct axonal projections to visual areas or indirectly through other brain areas and whether the FEF affects both the enhancement of attended and the suppression of unattended sensory responses. We used pathway-selective optogenetics in rhesus macaques performing a spatial attention task to inhibit the direct input from the FEF to area MT, an area along the dorsal visual pathway specialized for the processing of visual motion information. Our results show that the optogenetic inhibition of the FEF input specifically reduces attentional modulation in MT by about a third without affecting the neurons' sensory response component. We find that the direct FEF-to-MT pathway contributes to both the enhanced processing of target stimuli and the suppression of distractors. The FEF, thus, selectively modulates firing rates in visual area MT, and it does so via its direct axonal projections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janina Hüer
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt60528, Germany
| | - Pankhuri Saxena
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen37077, Germany
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37073, Germany
- Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Göttingen37073, Germany
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6
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Di Dona G, Ronconi L. Beta oscillations in vision: a (preconscious) neural mechanism for the dorsal visual stream? Front Psychol 2023; 14:1296483. [PMID: 38155693 PMCID: PMC10753839 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1296483] [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: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Neural oscillations in alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) frequency bands are thought to reflect feedback/reentrant loops and large-scale cortical interactions. In the last decades a main effort has been made in linking perception with alpha-band oscillations, with converging evidence showing that alpha oscillations have a key role in the temporal and featural binding of visual input, configuring the alpha rhythm a key determinant of conscious visual experience. Less attention has been historically dedicated to link beta oscillations and visual processing. Nonetheless, increasing studies report that task conditions that require to segregate/integrate stimuli in space, to disentangle local/global shapes, to spatially reorganize visual inputs, and to achieve motion perception or form-motion integration, rely on the activity of beta oscillations, with a main hub in parietal areas. In the present review, we summarize the evidence linking oscillations within the beta band and visual perception. We propose that beta oscillations represent a neural code that supports the functionality of the magnocellular-dorsal (M-D) visual pathway, serving as a fast primary neural code to exert top-down influences on the slower parvocellular-ventral visual pathway activity. Such M-D-related beta activity is proposed to act mainly pre-consciously, providing the spatial coordinates of vision and guiding the conscious extraction of objects identity that are achieved with slower alpha rhythms in ventral areas. Finally, within this new theoretical framework, we discuss the potential role of M-D-related beta oscillations in visuo-spatial attention, oculo-motor behavior and reading (dis)abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Di Dona
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
- School of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Ronconi
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
- School of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
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7
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Parto-Dezfouli M, Vezoli J, Bosman CA, Fries P. Enhanced behavioral performance through interareal gamma and beta synchronization. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113249. [PMID: 37837620 PMCID: PMC10679823 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113249] [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: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive functioning requires coordination between brain areas. Between visual areas, feedforward gamma synchronization improves behavioral performance. Here, we investigate whether similar principles hold across brain regions and frequency bands, using simultaneous electrocorticographic recordings from 15 areas of two macaque monkeys during performance of a selective attention task. Short behavioral reaction times (RTs), suggesting efficient interareal communication, occurred when occipital areas V1, V2, V4, and DP showed gamma synchronization, and fronto-central areas S1, 5, F1, F2, and F4 showed beta synchronization. For both area clusters and corresponding frequency bands, deviations from the typically observed phase relations increased RTs. Across clusters and frequency bands, good phase relations occurred in a correlated manner specifically when they processed the behaviorally relevant stimulus. Furthermore, the fronto-central cluster exerted a beta-band influence onto the occipital cluster whose strength predicted short RTs. These results suggest that local gamma and beta synchronization and their inter-regional coordination jointly improve behavioral performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Parto-Dezfouli
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Julien Vezoli
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Conrado Arturo Bosman
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Pascal Fries
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
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8
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Westerberg JA, Schall JD, Woodman GF, Maier A. Feedforward attentional selection in sensory cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5993. [PMID: 37752171 PMCID: PMC10522696 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41745-1] [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: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Salient objects grab attention because they stand out from their surroundings. Whether this phenomenon is accomplished by bottom-up sensory processing or requires top-down guidance is debated. We tested these alternative hypotheses by measuring how early and in which cortical layer(s) neural spiking distinguished a target from a distractor. We measured synaptic and spiking activity across cortical columns in mid-level area V4 of male macaque monkeys performing visual search for a color singleton. A neural signature of attentional capture was observed in the earliest response in the input layer 4. The magnitude of this response predicted response time and accuracy. Errant behavior followed errant selection. Because this response preceded top-down influences and arose in the cortical layer not targeted by top-down connections, these findings demonstrate that feedforward activation of sensory cortex can underlie attentional priority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Vision: Science to Applications Program, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Geoffrey F Woodman
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
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9
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Odean NN, Sanayei M, Shadlen MN. Transient Oscillations of Neural Firing Rate Associated With Routing of Evidence in a Perceptual Decision. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6369-6383. [PMID: 37550053 PMCID: PMC10500999 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2200-22.2023] [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: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
To form a perceptual decision, the brain must acquire samples of evidence from the environment and incorporate them in computations that mediate choice behavior. While much is known about the neural circuits that process sensory information and those that form decisions, less is known about the mechanisms that establish the functional linkage between them. We trained monkeys of both sexes to make difficult decisions about the net direction of visual motion under conditions that required trial-by-trial control of functional connectivity. In one condition, the motion appeared at different locations on different trials. In the other, two motion patches appeared, only one of which was informative. Neurons in the parietal cortex produced brief oscillations in their firing rate at the time routing was established: upon onset of the motion display when its location was unpredictable across trials, and upon onset of an attention cue that indicated in which of two locations an informative patch of dots would appear. The oscillation was absent when the stimulus location was fixed across trials. We interpret the oscillation as a manifestation of the mechanism that establishes the source and destination of flexibly routed information, but not the transmission of the information per se Significance Statement It has often been suggested that oscillations in neural activity might serve a role in routing information appropriately. We observe an oscillation in neural firing rate in the lateral intraparietal area consistent with such a role. The oscillations are transient. They coincide with the establishment of routing, but they do not appear to play a role in the transmission (or conveyance) of the routed information itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi N Odean
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025
| | - Mehdi Sanayei
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025
| | - Michael N Shadlen
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025
- Kavli Institute, New York, New York 10025
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10
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Hanning NM, Fernández A, Carrasco M. Dissociable roles of human frontal eye fields and early visual cortex in presaccadic attention. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5381. [PMID: 37666805 PMCID: PMC10477327 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40678-z] [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: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Shortly before saccadic eye movements, visual sensitivity at the saccade target is enhanced, at the expense of sensitivity elsewhere. Some behavioral and neural correlates of this presaccadic shift of attention resemble those of covert attention, deployed during fixation. Microstimulation in non-human primates has shown that presaccadic attention modulates perception via feedback from oculomotor to visual areas. This mechanism also seems plausible in humans, as both oculomotor and visual areas are active during saccade planning. We investigated this hypothesis by applying TMS to frontal or visual areas during saccade preparation. By simultaneously measuring perceptual performance, we show their causal and differential roles in contralateral presaccadic attention effects: Whereas rFEF+ stimulation enhanced sensitivity opposite the saccade target throughout saccade preparation, V1/V2 stimulation reduced sensitivity at the saccade target only shortly before saccade onset. These findings are consistent with presaccadic attention modulating perception through cortico-cortical feedback and further dissociate presaccadic and covert attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Hanning
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
- Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Antonio Fernández
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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11
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Comeaux P, Clark K, Noudoost B. A recruitment through coherence theory of working memory. Prog Neurobiol 2023; 228:102491. [PMID: 37393039 PMCID: PMC10530428 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102491] [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: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
The interactions between prefrontal cortex and other areas during working memory have been studied for decades. Here we outline a conceptual framework describing interactions between these areas during working memory, and review evidence for key elements of this model. We specifically suggest that a top-down signal sent from prefrontal to sensory areas drives oscillations in these areas. Spike timing within sensory areas becomes locked to these working-memory-driven oscillations, and the phase of spiking conveys information about the representation available within these areas. Downstream areas receiving these phase-locked spikes from sensory areas can recover this information via a combination of coherent oscillations and gating of input efficacy based on the phase of their local oscillations. Although the conceptual framework is based on prefrontal interactions with sensory areas during working memory, we also discuss the broader implications of this framework for flexible communication between brain areas in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip Comeaux
- Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, 36 S. Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA; Dept. of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, 65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Kelsey Clark
- Dept. of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, 65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Behrad Noudoost
- Dept. of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, 65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA.
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12
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Lorents A, Colin ME, Bjerke IE, Nougaret S, Montelisciani L, Diaz M, Verschure P, Vezoli J. Human Brain Project Partnering Projects Meeting: Status Quo and Outlook. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0091-23.2023. [PMID: 37669867 PMCID: PMC10481639 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0091-23.2023] [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: 03/19/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
As the European Flagship Human Brain Project (HBP) ends in September 2023, a meeting dedicated to the Partnering Projects (PPs), a collective of independent research groups that partnered with the HBP, was held on September 4-7, 2022. The purpose of this meeting was to allow these groups to present their results, reflect on their collaboration with the HBP and discuss future interactions with the European Research Infrastructure (RI) EBRAINS that has emerged from the HBP. In this report, we share the tour-de-force that the Partnering Projects that were present in the meeting have made in furthering knowledge concerning various aspects of Brain Research with the HBP. We describe briefly major achievements of the HBP Partnering Projects in terms of a systems-level understanding of the functional architecture of the brain and its possible emulation in artificial systems. We then recapitulate open discussions with EBRAINS representatives about the evolution of EBRAINS as a sustainable Research Infrastructure for the Partnering Projects after the HBP, and also for the wider scientific community.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ingvild Elise Bjerke
- Neural Systems Laboratory, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo 0372, Norway
| | - Simon Nougaret
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7289, Aix Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Luca Montelisciani
- Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1098XH, The Netherlands
| | - Marissa Diaz
- Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich 52428, Germany
| | - Paul Verschure
- Donders Center for Neuroscience (DCN-FNWI), Radboud University, Nijmegen 6500HD, The Netherlands
| | - Julien Vezoli
- Ernst Strügmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt am Main 60528, Germany
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité 1208, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Bron 69500, France
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13
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Posner MI. The Evolution and Future Development of Attention Networks. J Intell 2023; 11:98. [PMID: 37367500 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence11060098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The goal of this paper is to examine how the development of attention networks has left many important issues unsolved and to propose possible directions for solving them by combining human and animal studies. The paper starts with evidence from citation mapping that indicates attention has played a central role in integrating cognitive and neural studies into Cognitive Neuroscience. The integration of the fields depends in part upon similarities and differences in performance over a wide variety of animals. In the case of exogenous orienting of attention primates, rodents and humans are quite similar, but this is not so with executive control. In humans, attention networks continue to develop at different rates during infancy and childhood and into adulthood. From age four on, the Attention Network Test (ANT) allows measurement of individual differences in the alerting, orienting and executive networks. Overt and covert orienting do overlap in their anatomy, but there is evidence of some degree of functional independence at the cellular level. The attention networks frequently work together with sensory, memory and other networks. Integration of animal and human studies may be advanced by examining common genes involved in individual attention networks or their integration with other brain networks. Attention networks involve widely scattered computation nodes in different brain areas, both cortical and subcortical. Future studies need to attend to the white matter that connects them and the direction of information flow during task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael I Posner
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
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14
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Parto-Dezfouli M, Vezoli J, Bosman CA, Fries P. Enhanced Behavioral Performance through Interareal Gamma and Beta Synchronization. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.06.531093. [PMID: 36945499 PMCID: PMC10028832 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.06.531093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive functioning requires coordination between brain areas. Between visual areas, feedforward gamma synchronization improves behavioral performance. Here, we investigate whether similar principles hold across brain regions and frequency bands, using simultaneous local field potential recordings from 15 areas during performance of a selective attention task. Short behavioral reaction times (RTs), an index of efficient interareal communication, occurred when occipital areas V1, V2, V4, DP showed gamma synchronization, and fronto-central areas S1, 5, F1, F2, F4 showed beta synchronization. For both area clusters and corresponding frequency bands, deviations from the typically observed phase relations increased RTs. Across clusters and frequency bands, good phase relations occurred in a correlated manner specifically when they processed the behaviorally relevant stimulus. Furthermore, the fronto-central cluster exerted a beta-band influence onto the occipital cluster whose strength predicted short RTs. These results suggest that local gamma and beta synchronization and their inter-regional coordination jointly improve behavioral performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Parto-Dezfouli
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Julien Vezoli
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Conrado Arturo Bosman
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Center for Neuroscience, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Pascal Fries
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, Netherlands
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15
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Hanning NM, Fernández A, Carrasco M. Dissociable roles of human frontal eye fields and early visual cortex in presaccadic attention - evidence from TMS. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.23.529691. [PMID: 36865228 PMCID: PMC9980111 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.23.529691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
Shortly before each saccadic eye movement, presaccadic attention improves visual sensitivity at the saccade target 1-5 at the expense of lowered sensitivity at non-target locations 6-11 . Some behavioral and neural correlates of presaccadic attention and covert attention -which likewise enhances sensitivity, but during fixation 12 -are similar 13 . This resemblance has led to the debatable 13-18 notion that presaccadic and covert attention are functionally equivalent and rely on the same neural circuitry 19-21 . At a broad scale, oculomotor brain structures (e.g., FEF) are also modulated during covert attention 22-24 - yet by distinct neuronal subpopulations 25-28 . Perceptual benefits of presaccadic attention rely on feedback from oculomotor structures to visual cortices 29,30 ( Fig. 1a ); micro-stimulation of FEF in non-human primates affects activity in visual cortex 31-34 and enhances visual sensitivity at the movement field of the stimulated neurons 35-37 . Similar feedback projections seem to exist in humans: FEF+ activation precedes occipital activation during saccade preparation 38,39 and FEF TMS modulates activity in visual cortex 40-42 and enhances perceived contrast in the contralateral hemifield 40 . We investigated presaccadic feedback in humans by applying TMS to frontal or visual areas during saccade preparation. By simultaneously measuring perceptual performance, we show the causal and differential roles of these brain regions in contralateral presaccadic benefits at the saccade target and costs at non-targets: Whereas rFEF+ stimulation reduced presaccadic costs throughout saccade preparation, V1/V2 stimulation reduced benefits only shortly before saccade onset. These effects provide causal evidence that presaccadic attention modulates perception through cortico-cortical feedback and further dissociate presaccadic and covert attention.
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16
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Abstract
Visual perception is limited by spatial resolution, the ability to discriminate fine details. Spatial resolution not only declines with eccentricity but also differs for polar angle locations around the visual field, also known as 'performance fields'. To compensate for poor peripheral resolution, we make rapid eye movements-saccades-to bring peripheral objects into high-acuity foveal vision. Already before saccade onset, visual attention shifts to the saccade target location and prioritizes visual processing. This presaccadic shift of attention improves performance in many visual tasks, but whether it changes resolution is unknown. Here, we investigated whether presaccadic attention sharpens peripheral spatial resolution; and if so, whether such effect interacts with performance fields asymmetries. We measured acuity thresholds in an orientation discrimination task during fixation and saccade preparation around the visual field. The results revealed that presaccadic attention sharpens acuity, which can facilitate a smooth transition from peripheral to foveal representation. This acuity enhancement is similar across the four cardinal locations; thus, the typically robust effect of presaccadic attention does not change polar angle differences in resolution.
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17
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Soyuhos O, Baldauf D. Functional connectivity fingerprints of the frontal eye field and inferior frontal junction suggest spatial versus nonspatial processing in the prefrontal cortex. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 57:1114-1140. [PMID: 36789470 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Neuroimaging evidence suggests that the frontal eye field (FEF) and inferior frontal junction (IFJ) govern the encoding of spatial and nonspatial (such as feature- or object-based) representations, respectively, both during visual attention and working memory tasks. However, it is still unclear whether such contrasting functional segregation is also reflected in their underlying functional connectivity patterns. Here, we hypothesized that FEF has predominant functional coupling with spatiotopically organized regions in the dorsal ('where') visual stream whereas IFJ has predominant functional connectivity with the ventral ('what') visual stream. We applied seed-based functional connectivity analyses to temporally high-resolving resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings. We parcellated the brain according to the multimodal Glasser atlas and tested, for various frequency bands, whether the spontaneous activity of each parcel in the ventral and dorsal visual pathway has predominant functional connectivity with FEF or IFJ. The results show that FEF has a robust power correlation with the dorsal visual pathway in beta and gamma bands. In contrast, anterior IFJ (IFJa) has a strong power coupling with the ventral visual stream in delta, beta and gamma oscillations. Moreover, while FEF is phase-coupled with the superior parietal lobe in the beta band, IFJa is phase-coupled with the middle and inferior temporal cortex in delta and gamma oscillations. We argue that these intrinsic connectivity fingerprints are congruent with each brain region's function. Therefore, we conclude that FEF and IFJ have dissociable connectivity patterns that fit their respective functional roles in spatial versus nonspatial top-down attention and working memory control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orhan Soyuhos
- Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy.,Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Daniel Baldauf
- Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
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18
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Curtis MT, Sklar AL, Coffman BA, Salisbury DF. Functional connectivity and gray matter deficits within the auditory attention circuit in first-episode psychosis. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1114703. [PMID: 36860499 PMCID: PMC9968732 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1114703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Selective attention deficits in first episode of psychosis (FEP) can be indexed by impaired attentional modulation of auditory M100. It is unknown if the pathophysiology underlying this deficit is restricted to auditory cortex or involves a distributed attention network. We examined the auditory attention network in FEP. Methods MEG was recorded from 27 FEP and 31 matched healthy controls (HC) while alternately ignoring or attending tones. A whole-brain analysis of MEG source activity during auditory M100 identified non-auditory areas with increased activity. Time-frequency activity and phase-amplitude coupling were examined in auditory cortex to identify the attentional executive carrier frequency. Attention networks were defined by phase-locking at the carrier frequency. Spectral and gray matter deficits in the identified circuits were examined in FEP. Results Attention-related activity was identified in prefrontal and parietal regions, markedly in precuneus. Theta power and phase coupling to gamma amplitude increased with attention in left primary auditory cortex. Two unilateral attention networks were identified with precuneus seeds in HC. Network synchrony was impaired in FEP. Gray matter thickness was reduced within the left hemisphere network in FEP but did not correlate with synchrony. Conclusion Several extra-auditory attention areas with attention-related activity were identified. Theta was the carrier frequency for attentional modulation in auditory cortex. Left and right hemisphere attention networks were identified, with bilateral functional deficits and left hemisphere structural deficits, though FEP showed intact auditory cortex theta phase-gamma amplitude coupling. These novel findings indicate attention-related circuitopathy early in psychosis potentially amenable to future non-invasive interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Dean F. Salisbury
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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19
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Aussel A, Fiebelkorn IC, Kastner S, Kopell NJ, Pittman-Polletta BR. Interacting rhythms enhance sensitivity of target detection in a fronto-parietal computational model of visual attention. eLife 2023; 12:e67684. [PMID: 36718998 PMCID: PMC10129332 DOI: 10.7554/elife.67684] [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: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Even during sustained attention, enhanced processing of attended stimuli waxes and wanes rhythmically, with periods of enhanced and relatively diminished visual processing (and subsequent target detection) alternating at 4 or 8 Hz in a sustained visual attention task. These alternating attentional states occur alongside alternating dynamical states, in which lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP), the frontal eye field (FEF), and the mediodorsal pulvinar (mdPul) exhibit different activity and functional connectivity at α, β, and γ frequencies-rhythms associated with visual processing, working memory, and motor suppression. To assess whether and how these multiple interacting rhythms contribute to periodicity in attention, we propose a detailed computational model of FEF and LIP. When driven by θ-rhythmic inputs simulating experimentally-observed mdPul activity, this model reproduced the rhythmic dynamics and behavioral consequences of observed attentional states, revealing that the frequencies and mechanisms of the observed rhythms allow for peak sensitivity in visual target detection while maintaining functional flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Aussel
- Cognitive Rhythms Collaborative, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston UniversityRochesterUnited States
| | - Ian C Fiebelkorn
- Department of Neuroscience and Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of RochesterRochesterUnited States
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
| | - Sabine Kastner
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
- Department of Psychology, Princeton UniversityPrincetonUnited States
| | - Nancy J Kopell
- Cognitive Rhythms Collaborative, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston UniversityRochesterUnited States
| | - Benjamin Rafael Pittman-Polletta
- Cognitive Rhythms Collaborative, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston UniversityRochesterUnited States
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20
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Ouerfelli-Ethier J, Comtois Bona I, Fournet R, Pisella L, Khan AZ. Pre-saccadic attention relies more on suppression than does covert attention. J Vis 2023; 23:1. [PMID: 36595283 PMCID: PMC9819743 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.1.1] [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] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
During covert and pre-saccadic attentional shifts, it is unclear how facilitation and suppression processes interact for target selection. A recent countermanding task pointed to greater suppression at unattended locations during trials with saccades compared to trials without saccades (i.e., fixation and successful stop trials), whereas target facilitation did not differ. It is unknown whether this finding is restricted to countermanding paradigms that involve inhibitory processes. To test this, we adapted Gaspelin and colleagues (2015)'s attention capture task where, within the same block, one location was primed with frequent line discrimination trials, and all locations were occasionally probed using letters report trials. Participants also performed a baseline condition without priming. We tested 15 participants and examined how performance at non-primed locations was affected by covert versus pre-saccadic attention in blocks of four or six items, as well as by position from the primed location and timing from saccade onset. For both attention conditions, letter report at non-primed locations was worse compared to baseline, demonstrating suppression, and letter report at primed location was better, demonstrating facilitation. In saccades trials, letter report was better at primed locations and worse at non-primed locations compared to fixation trials. The timing of this additional pre-saccadic suppression differed from saccadic suppression. In both attention conditions, suppression was greater when primed and non-primed locations were within the same hemifield or in diagonal opposite quadrants. These results confirmed that attention preceding saccade execution suppressed non-primed locations to a larger extent than covert attention, with the same spatial quadrant effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Ouerfelli-Ethier
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.,Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Trajectoires team, University of Lyon I Claude-Bernard, Bron, France.,
| | | | - Romain Fournet
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.,
| | - Laure Pisella
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Trajectoires team, University of Lyon I Claude-Bernard, Bron, France.,
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21
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Higley MJ, Cardin JA. Spatiotemporal dynamics in large-scale cortical networks. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 77:102627. [PMID: 36115252 PMCID: PMC10618958 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102627] [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: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Investigating links between nervous system function and behavior requires monitoring neuronal activity at a range of spatial and temporal scales. Here, we summarize recent progress in applying two distinct but complementary approaches to the study of network dynamics in the neocortex. Mesoscopic calcium imaging allows simultaneous monitoring of activity across most of the cortex at moderate spatiotemporal resolution. Electrophysiological recordings provide extremely high temporal resolution of neural signals at multiple targeted locations. A number of recent studies have used these tools to reveal novel patterns of activity across distributed cortical subnetworks. This growing body of work strongly supports the hypothesis that the dynamic coordination of spatially distinct regions is a fundamental aspect of cortical function that supports cognition and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Higley
- Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jessica A Cardin
- Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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22
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Dynamic and stable population coding of attentional instructions coexist in the prefrontal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2202564119. [PMID: 36161937 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202564119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A large body of recent work suggests that neural representations in prefrontal cortex (PFC) are changing over time to adapt to task demands. However, it remains unclear whether and how such dynamic coding schemes depend on the encoded variable and are influenced by anatomical constraints. Using a cued attention task and multivariate classification methods, we show that neuronal ensembles in PFC encode and retain in working memory spatial and color attentional instructions in an anatomically specific manner. Spatial instructions could be decoded both from the frontal eye field (FEF) and the ventrolateral PFC (vlPFC) population, albeit more robustly from FEF, whereas color instructions were decoded more robustly from vlPFC. Decoding spatial and color information from vlPFC activity in the high-dimensional state space indicated stronger dynamics for color, across the cue presentation and memory periods. The change in the color code was largely due to rapid changes in the network state during the transition to the delay period. However, we found that dynamic vlPFC activity contained time-invariant color information within a low-dimensional subspace of neural activity that allowed for stable decoding of color across time. Furthermore, spatial attention influenced decoding of stimuli features profoundly in vlPFC, but less so in visual area V4. Overall, our results suggest that dynamic population coding of attentional instructions within PFC is shaped by anatomical constraints and can coexist with stable subspace coding that allows time-invariant decoding of information about the future target.
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23
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Curtis MT, Ren X, Coffman BA, Salisbury DF. Attentional M100 gain modulation localizes to auditory sensory cortex and is deficient in first-episode psychosis. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 44:218-228. [PMID: 36073535 PMCID: PMC9783396 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Selective attention is impaired in first-episode psychosis (FEP). Selective attention effects can be detected during auditory tasks as increased sensory activity. We previously reported electroencephalography scalp-measured N100 enhancement is reduced in FEP. Here, we localized magnetoencephalography (MEG) M100 source activity within the auditory cortex, making novel use of the Human Connectome Project multimodal parcellation (HCP-MMP) to identify precise auditory cortical areas involved in attention modulation and its impairment in FEP. MEG was recorded from 27 FEP and 31 matched healthy controls (HC) while individuals either ignored frequent standard and rare oddball tones while watching a silent movie or attended tones by pressing a button to oddballs. Because M100 arises mainly in the auditory cortices, MEG activity during the M100 interval was projected to the auditory sensory cortices defined by the HCP-MMP (A1, lateral belt, and parabelt parcels). FEP had less auditory sensory cortex M100 activity in both conditions. In addition, there was a significant interaction between group and attention. HC enhanced source activity with attention, but FEP did not. These results demonstrate deficits in both sensory processing and attentional modulation of the M100 in FEP. Novel use of the HCP-MMP revealed the precise cortical areas underlying attention modulation of auditory sensory activity in healthy individuals and impairments in FEP. The sensory reduction and attention modulation impairment indicate local and systems-level pathophysiology proximal to disease onset that may be critical for etiology. Further, M100 and N100 enhancement may serve as outcome variables for targeted intervention to improve attention in early psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark T. Curtis
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of PsychiatryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Xi Ren
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of PsychiatryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Brian A. Coffman
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of PsychiatryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Dean F. Salisbury
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of PsychiatryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPennsylvaniaUSA
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24
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Boshra R, Kastner S. Attention control in the primate brain. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 76:102605. [PMID: 35850060 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Attention is fundamental to all cognition. In the primate brain, it is implemented by a large-scale network that consists of areas spanning across all major lobes, also including subcortical regions. Classical attention accounts assume that control over the selection process in this network is exerted by 'top-down' mechanisms in the fronto-parietal cortex that influence sensory representations via feedback signals. More recent studies have expanded this view of attentional control. In this review, we will start from a traditional top-down account of attention control, and then discuss more recent findings on feature-based attention, thalamic influences, temporal network dynamics, and behavioral dynamics that collectively lead to substantial modifications. We outline how the different emerging accounts can be reconciled and integrated into a unified theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rober Boshra
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
| | - Sabine Kastner
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
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25
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Abstract
Voluntary attention selects behaviorally relevant signals for further processing while filtering out distracter signals. Neural correlates of voluntary visual attention have been reported across multiple areas of the primate visual processing streams, with the earliest and strongest effects isolated in the prefrontal cortex. In this article, I review evidence supporting the hypothesis that signals guiding the allocation of voluntary attention emerge in areas of the prefrontal cortex and reach upstream areas to modulate the processing of incoming visual information according to its behavioral relevance. Areas located anterior and dorsal to the arcuate sulcus and the frontal eye fields produce signals that guide the allocation of spatial attention. Areas located anterior and ventral to the arcuate sulcus produce signals for feature-based attention. Prefrontal microcircuits are particularly suited to supporting voluntary attention because of their ability to generate attentional template signals and implement signal gating and their extensive connectivity with the rest of the brain. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 8 is September 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julio Martinez-Trujillo
- Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada;
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26
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Radetz A, Siegel M. Spectral Fingerprints of Cortical Neuromodulation. J Neurosci 2022; 42:3836-3846. [PMID: 35361704 PMCID: PMC9087718 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1801-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Pupil size has been established as a versatile marker of noradrenergic and cholinergic neuromodulation, which has profound effects on neuronal processing, cognition, and behavior. However, little is known about the cortical control and effects of pupil-linked neuromodulation. Here, we show that pupil dynamics are tightly coupled to temporally, spectrally, and spatially specific modulations of local and large-scale cortical population activity in the human brain. We quantified the dynamics of band-limited cortical population activity in resting human subjects using magnetoencephalography and investigated how neural dynamics were linked to simultaneously recorded pupil dynamics. Our results show that pupil-linked neuromodulation does not merely affect cortical population activity in a stereotypical fashion. Instead, we identified three frontal, precentral, and occipitoparietal networks, in which local population activity with distinct spectral profiles in the theta, beta, and alpha bands temporally preceded and followed changes in pupil size. Furthermore, we found that amplitude coupling at ∼16 Hz in a large-scale frontoparietal network predicted pupil dynamics. Our results unravel network-specific spectral fingerprints of cortical neuromodulation in the human brain that likely reflect both the causes and effects of neuromodulation.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Brain function is constantly affected by modulatory neurotransmitters. Pupil size has been established as a versatile marker of noradrenergic and cholinergic neuromodulation. However, because the cortical correlates of pupil dynamics are largely unknown, fundamental questions remain unresolved. Which cortical networks control pupil-linked neuromodulation? Does neuromodulation affect cortical activity in a stereotypical or region-specific fashion? To address this, we quantified the dynamics of cortical population activity in human subjects using magnetoencephalography. We found that pupil dynamics are coupled to highly specific modulations of local and large-scale cortical activity in the human brain. We identified four cortical networks with distinct spectral profiles that temporally predicted and followed pupil size dynamics. These effects likely reflect both the cortical control and effect of neuromodulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Radetz
- Department of Neural Dynamics and Magnetoencephalography, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- MEG Center, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Markus Siegel
- Department of Neural Dynamics and Magnetoencephalography, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- MEG Center, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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27
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Ebrahimi S, Lecoq J, Rumyantsev O, Tasci T, Zhang Y, Irimia C, Li J, Ganguli S, Schnitzer MJ. Emergent reliability in sensory cortical coding and inter-area communication. Nature 2022; 605:713-721. [PMID: 35589841 PMCID: PMC10985415 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04724-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Reliable sensory discrimination must arise from high-fidelity neural representations and communication between brain areas. However, how neocortical sensory processing overcomes the substantial variability of neuronal sensory responses remains undetermined1-6. Here we imaged neuronal activity in eight neocortical areas concurrently and over five days in mice performing a visual discrimination task, yielding longitudinal recordings of more than 21,000 neurons. Analyses revealed a sequence of events across the neocortex starting from a resting state, to early stages of perception, and through the formation of a task response. At rest, the neocortex had one pattern of functional connections, identified through sets of areas that shared activity cofluctuations7,8. Within about 200 ms after the onset of the sensory stimulus, such connections rearranged, with different areas sharing cofluctuations and task-related information. During this short-lived state (approximately 300 ms duration), both inter-area sensory data transmission and the redundancy of sensory encoding peaked, reflecting a transient increase in correlated fluctuations among task-related neurons. By around 0.5 s after stimulus onset, the visual representation reached a more stable form, the structure of which was robust to the prominent, day-to-day variations in the responses of individual cells. About 1 s into stimulus presentation, a global fluctuation mode conveyed the upcoming response of the mouse to every area examined and was orthogonal to modes carrying sensory data. Overall, the neocortex supports sensory performance through brief elevations in sensory coding redundancy near the start of perception, neural population codes that are robust to cellular variability, and widespread inter-area fluctuation modes that transmit sensory data and task responses in non-interfering channels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sadegh Ebrahimi
- James Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- CNC Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Jérôme Lecoq
- James Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- CNC Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Allen Institute, Mindscope Program, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Oleg Rumyantsev
- James Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- CNC Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Tugce Tasci
- James Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- CNC Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Yanping Zhang
- James Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- CNC Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Cristina Irimia
- James Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- CNC Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jane Li
- James Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Surya Ganguli
- James Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Mark J Schnitzer
- James Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- CNC Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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28
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Kontoyiannis I, Mertzanis L, Panotopoulou A, Papageorgiou I, Skoularidou M. Bayesian context trees: Modelling and exact inference for discrete time series. J R Stat Soc Series B Stat Methodol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/rssb.12511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Kontoyiannis
- Statistical Laboratory Centre for Mathematical Sciences University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | - Lambros Mertzanis
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Maryland College Part, Maryland USA
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29
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Hanning NM, Himmelberg MM, Carrasco M. Presaccadic attention enhances contrast sensitivity, but not at the upper vertical meridian. iScience 2022; 25:103851. [PMID: 35198902 PMCID: PMC8850791 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual performance has striking polar performance asymmetries: At a fixed eccentricity, it is better along the horizontal than vertical meridian and the lower than upper vertical meridian. These asymmetries are not alleviated by covert exogenous or endogenous attention, but have been studied exclusively during eye fixation. However, a major driver of everyday attentional orienting is saccade preparation, during which attention automatically shifts to the future eye fixation. This presaccadic attention shift is considered strong and compulsory, and relies on different neural computations and substrates than covert attention. Thus, we asked: Can presaccadic attention compensate for the ubiquitous performance asymmetries observed during eye fixation? Our data replicate polar performance asymmetries during fixation and document the same asymmetries during saccade preparation. Crucially, however, presaccadic attention enhanced contrast sensitivity at the horizontal and lower vertical meridian, but not at the upper vertical meridian. Thus, instead of attenuating performance asymmetries, presaccadic attention exacerbates them. Can presaccadic attention attenuate polar angle asymmetries in visual perception Presaccadic attention enhances sensitivity at horizontal and lower vertical meridians But presaccadic attention does not enhance sensitivity at the upper vertical meridian Thus, presaccadic attention even exacerbates polar angle asymmetries in perception
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Hanning
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.,Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Marc M Himmelberg
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.,Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.,Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
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30
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Westerberg JA, Schall MS, Maier A, Woodman GF, Schall JD. Laminar microcircuitry of visual cortex producing attention-associated electric fields. eLife 2022; 11:72139. [PMID: 35089128 PMCID: PMC8846592 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive operations are widely studied by measuring electric fields through EEG and ECoG. However, despite their widespread use, the neural circuitry giving rise to these signals remains unknown because the functional architecture of cortical columns producing attention-associated electric fields has not been explored. Here, we detail the laminar cortical circuitry underlying an attention-associated electric field measured over posterior regions of the brain in humans and monkeys. First, we identified visual cortical area V4 as one plausible contributor to this attention-associated electric field through inverse modeling of cranial EEG in macaque monkeys performing a visual attention task. Next, we performed laminar neurophysiological recordings on the prelunate gyrus and identified the electric-field-producing dipoles as synaptic activity in distinct cortical layers of area V4. Specifically, activation in the extragranular layers of cortex resulted in the generation of the attention-associated dipole. Feature selectivity of a given cortical column determined the overall contribution to this electric field. Columns selective for the attended feature contributed more to the electric field than columns selective for a different feature. Last, the laminar profile of synaptic activity generated by V4 was sufficient to produce an attention-associated signal measurable outside of the column. These findings suggest that the top-down recipient cortical layers produce an attention-associated electric field that can be measured extracortically with the relative contribution of each column depending upon the underlying functional architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Michelle S Schall
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Geoffrey F Woodman
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
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31
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Westerberg JA, Sigworth EA, Schall JD, Maier A. Pop-out search instigates beta-gated feature selectivity enhancement across V4 layers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2103702118. [PMID: 34893538 PMCID: PMC8685673 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2103702118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual search is a workhorse for investigating how attention interacts with processing of sensory information. Attentional selection has been linked to altered cortical sensory responses and feature preferences (i.e., tuning). However, attentional modulation of feature selectivity during search is largely unexplored. Here we map the spatiotemporal profile of feature selectivity during singleton search. Monkeys performed a search where a pop-out feature determined the target of attention. We recorded laminar neural responses from visual area V4. We first identified "feature columns" which showed preference for individual colors. In the unattended condition, feature columns were significantly more selective in superficial relative to middle and deep layers. Attending a stimulus increased selectivity in all layers but not equally. Feature selectivity increased most in the deep layers, leading to higher selectivity in extragranular layers as compared to the middle layer. This attention-induced enhancement was rhythmically gated in phase with the beta-band local field potential. Beta power dominated both extragranular laminar compartments, but current source density analysis pointed to an origin in superficial layers, specifically. While beta-band power was present regardless of attentional state, feature selectivity was only gated by beta in the attended condition. Neither the beta oscillation nor its gating of feature selectivity varied with microsaccade production. Importantly, beta modulation of neural activity predicted response times, suggesting a direct link between attentional gating and behavioral output. Together, these findings suggest beta-range synaptic activation in V4's superficial layers rhythmically gates attentional enhancement of feature tuning in a way that affects the speed of attentional selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240;
| | | | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Centre for Vision Research, Vision: Science to Applications Program, Department of Biology and Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240
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32
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The diversity and specificity of functional connectivity across spatial and temporal scales. Neuroimage 2021; 245:118692. [PMID: 34751153 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Macroscopic neuroimaging modalities in humans have revealed the organization of brain-wide activity into distributed functional networks that re-organize according to behavioral demands. However, the inherent coarse-graining of macroscopic measurements conceals the diversity and specificity in responses and connectivity of many individual neurons contained in each local region. New invasive approaches in animals enable recording and manipulating neural activity at meso- and microscale resolution, with cell-type specificity and temporal precision down to milliseconds. Determining how brain-wide activity patterns emerge from interactions across spatial and temporal scales will allow us to identify the key circuit mechanisms contributing to global brain states and how the dynamic activity of these states enables adaptive behavior.
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33
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Li HH, Hanning NM, Carrasco M. To look or not to look: dissociating presaccadic and covert spatial attention. Trends Neurosci 2021; 44:669-686. [PMID: 34099240 PMCID: PMC8552810 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Attention is a central neural process that enables selective and efficient processing of visual information. Individuals can attend to specific visual information either overtly, by making an eye movement to an object of interest, or covertly, without moving their eyes. We review behavioral, neuropsychological, neurophysiological, and computational evidence of presaccadic attentional modulations that occur while preparing saccadic eye movements, and highlight their differences from those of covert spatial endogenous (voluntary) and exogenous (involuntary) attention. We discuss recent studies and experimental procedures on how these different types of attention impact visual performance, alter appearance, differentially modulate the featural representation of basic visual dimensions (orientation and spatial frequency), engage different neural computations, and recruit partially distinct neural substrates. We conclude that presaccadic attention and covert attention are dissociable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Hung Li
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Nina M Hanning
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
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34
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Banaie Boroujeni K, Tiesinga P, Womelsdorf T. Interneuron-specific gamma synchronization indexes cue uncertainty and prediction errors in lateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex. eLife 2021; 10:69111. [PMID: 34142661 PMCID: PMC8248985 DOI: 10.7554/elife.69111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Inhibitory interneurons are believed to realize critical gating functions in cortical circuits, but it has been difficult to ascertain the content of gated information for well-characterized interneurons in primate cortex. Here, we address this question by characterizing putative interneurons in primate prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex while monkeys engaged in attention demanding reversal learning. We find that subclasses of narrow spiking neurons have a relative suppressive effect on the local circuit indicating they are inhibitory interneurons. One of these interneuron subclasses showed prominent firing rate modulations and (35–45 Hz) gamma synchronous spiking during periods of uncertainty in both, lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In LPFC, this interneuron subclass activated when the uncertainty of attention cues was resolved during flexible learning, whereas in ACC it fired and gamma-synchronized when outcomes were uncertain and prediction errors were high during learning. Computational modeling of this interneuron-specific gamma band activity in simple circuit motifs suggests it could reflect a soft winner-take-all gating of information having high degree of uncertainty. Together, these findings elucidate an electrophysiologically characterized interneuron subclass in the primate, that forms gamma synchronous networks in two different areas when resolving uncertainty during adaptive goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul Tiesinga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Thilo Womelsdorf
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States.,Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, Canada
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35
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Dasilva M, Brandt C, Alwin Gieselmann M, Distler C, Thiele A. Contribution of Ionotropic Glutamatergic Receptors to Excitability and Attentional Signals in Macaque Frontal Eye Field. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:3266-3284. [PMID: 33626129 PMCID: PMC8196243 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Top-down attention, controlled by frontal cortical areas, is a key component of cognitive operations. How different neurotransmitters and neuromodulators flexibly change the cellular and network interactions with attention demands remains poorly understood. While acetylcholine and dopamine are critically involved, glutamatergic receptors have been proposed to play important roles. To understand their contribution to attentional signals, we investigated how ionotropic glutamatergic receptors in the frontal eye field (FEF) of male macaques contribute to neuronal excitability and attentional control signals in different cell types. Broad-spiking and narrow-spiking cells both required N-methyl-D-aspartic acid and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor activation for normal excitability, thereby affecting ongoing or stimulus-driven activity. However, attentional control signals were not dependent on either glutamatergic receptor type in broad- or narrow-spiking cells. A further subdivision of cell types into different functional types using cluster-analysis based on spike waveforms and spiking characteristics did not change the conclusions. This can be explained by a model where local blockade of specific ionotropic receptors is compensated by cell embedding in large-scale networks. It sets the glutamatergic system apart from the cholinergic system in FEF and demonstrates that a reduction in excitability is not sufficient to induce a reduction in attentional control signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Dasilva
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.,College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK
| | - Christian Brandt
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.,Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense, Denmark
| | | | - Claudia Distler
- Allgemeine Zoologie und Neurobiologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44801 Germany
| | - Alexander Thiele
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
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36
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Wollenberg L, Hanning NM, Deubel H. Visual attention and eye movement control during oculomotor competition. J Vis 2021; 20:16. [PMID: 32976594 PMCID: PMC7521175 DOI: 10.1167/jov.20.9.16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Saccadic eye movements are typically preceded by selective shifts of visual attention. Recent evidence, however, suggests that oculomotor selection can occur in the absence of attentional selection when saccades erroneously land in between nearby competing objects (saccade averaging). This study combined a saccade task with a visual discrimination task to investigate saccade target selection during episodes of competition between a saccade target and a nearby distractor. We manipulated the spatial predictability of target and distractor locations and asked participants to execute saccades upon variably delayed go-signals. This allowed us to systematically investigate the capacity to exert top-down eye movement control (as reflected in saccade endpoints) based on the spatiotemporal dynamics of visual attention during movement preparation (measured as visual sensitivity). Our data demonstrate that the predictability of target and distractor locations, despite not affecting the deployment of visual attention prior to movement preparation, largely improved the accuracy of short-latency saccades. Under spatial uncertainty, a short go-signal delay likewise enhanced saccade accuracy substantially, which was associated with a more selective deployment of attentional resources to the saccade target. Moreover, we observed a systematic relationship between the deployment of visual attention and saccade accuracy, with visual discrimination performance being significantly enhanced at the saccade target relative to the distractor only before the execution of saccades accurately landing at the saccade target. Our results provide novel insights linking top-down eye movement control to the operation of selective visual attention during movement preparation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Wollenberg
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany.,Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Department Biologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg, Germany
| | - Nina M Hanning
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany.,Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Heiner Deubel
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Department Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
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37
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Li HH, Pan J, Carrasco M. Different computations underlie overt presaccadic and covert spatial attention. Nat Hum Behav 2021; 5:1418-1431. [PMID: 33875838 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01099-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Perception and action are tightly coupled: visual responses at the saccade target are enhanced right before saccade onset. This phenomenon, presaccadic attention, is a form of overt attention-deployment of visual attention with concurrent eye movements. Presaccadic attention is well-documented, but its underlying computational process remains unknown. This is in stark contrast to covert attention-deployment of visual attention without concurrent eye movements-for which the computational processes are well characterized by a normalization model. Here, a series of psychophysical experiments reveal that presaccadic attention modulates visual performance only via response gain changes. A response gain change was observed even when attention field size increased, violating the predictions of a normalization model of attention. Our empirical results and model comparisons reveal that the perceptual modulations by overt presaccadic and covert spatial attention are mediated through different computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Hung Li
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA. .,Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Jasmine Pan
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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38
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Veniero D, Gross J, Morand S, Duecker F, Sack AT, Thut G. Top-down control of visual cortex by the frontal eye fields through oscillatory realignment. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1757. [PMID: 33741947 PMCID: PMC7979788 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21979-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Voluntary allocation of visual attention is controlled by top-down signals generated within the Frontal Eye Fields (FEFs) that can change the excitability of lower-level visual areas. However, the mechanism through which this control is achieved remains elusive. Here, we emulated the generation of an attentional signal using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to activate the FEFs and tracked its consequences over the visual cortex. First, we documented changes to brain oscillations using electroencephalography and found evidence for a phase reset over occipital sites at beta frequency. We then probed for perceptual consequences of this top-down triggered phase reset and assessed its anatomical specificity. We show that FEF activation leads to cyclic modulation of visual perception and extrastriate but not primary visual cortex excitability, again at beta frequency. We conclude that top-down signals originating in FEF causally shape visual cortex activity and perception through mechanisms of oscillatory realignment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joachim Gross
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | | | - Felix Duecker
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander T Sack
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Gregor Thut
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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39
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Abstract
Selective attention affords scrutinizing items in our environment. However, attentional selection changes over time and across space. Empirically, repetition of visual search conditions changes attentional processing. Priming of pop-out is a vivid example. Repeatedly searching for the same pop-out search feature is accomplished with faster response times and fewer errors. We review the psychophysical background of priming of pop-out, focusing on the hypothesis that it arises through changes in visual selective attention. We also describe research done with macaque monkeys to understand the neural mechanisms supporting visual selective attention and priming of pop-out, and survey research on priming of pop-out using noninvasive brain measures with humans. We conclude by hypothesizing three alternative neural mechanisms and highlighting open questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
| | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
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40
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Vezoli J, Magrou L, Goebel R, Wang XJ, Knoblauch K, Vinck M, Kennedy H. Cortical hierarchy, dual counterstream architecture and the importance of top-down generative networks. Neuroimage 2021; 225:117479. [PMID: 33099005 PMCID: PMC8244994 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Hierarchy is a major organizational principle of the cortex and underscores modern computational theories of cortical function. The local microcircuit amplifies long-distance inter-areal input, which show distance-dependent changes in their laminar profiles. Statistical modeling of these changes in laminar profiles demonstrates that inputs from multiple hierarchical levels to their target areas show remarkable consistency, allowing the construction of a cortical hierarchy based on a principle of hierarchical distance. The statistical modeling that is applied to structure can also be applied to laminar differences in the oscillatory coherence between areas thereby determining a functional hierarchy of the cortex. Close examination of the anatomy of inter-areal connectivity reveals a dual counterstream architecture with well-defined distance-dependent feedback and feedforward pathways in both the supra- and infragranular layers, suggesting a multiplicity of feedback pathways with well-defined functional properties. These findings are consistent with feedback connections providing a generative network involved in a wide range of cognitive functions. A dynamical model constrained by connectivity data sheds insight into the experimentally observed signatures of frequency-dependent Granger causality for feedforward versus feedback signaling. Concerted experiments capitalizing on recent technical advances and combining tract-tracing, high-resolution fMRI, optogenetics and mathematical modeling hold the promise of a much improved understanding of lamina-constrained mechanisms of neural computation and cognition. However, because inter-areal interactions involve cortical layers that have been the target of important evolutionary changes in the primate lineage, these investigations will need to include human and non-human primate comparisons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Vezoli
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Loïc Magrou
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500 Bron, France
| | - Rainer Goebel
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Xiao-Jing Wang
- Center for Neural Science, New York University (NYU), New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Kenneth Knoblauch
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500 Bron, France
| | - Martin Vinck
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - Henry Kennedy
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500 Bron, France; Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS, Shanghai 200031, China.
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41
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Kastner S, Fiebelkorn IC, Eradath MK. Dynamic pulvino-cortical interactions in the primate attention network. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 65:10-19. [PMID: 32942125 PMCID: PMC7770054 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
While research in previous decades demonstrated a link between the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus and visual selective attention, the pulvinar's specific functional role has remained elusive. However, methodological advances in electrophysiological recordings in non-human primates, including simultaneous recordings in multiple brain regions, have recently begun to reveal the pulvinar's functional contributions to selective attention. These new findings suggest that the pulvinar is critical for the efficient transmission of sensory information within and between cortical regions, both synchronizing cortical activity across brain regions and controlling cortical excitability. These new findings further suggest that the pulvinar's influence on cortical processing is embedded in a dynamic selection process that balances sensory and motor functions within the large-scale network that directs selective attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Kastner
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, United States.
| | - Ian C Fiebelkorn
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, United States
| | - Manoj K Eradath
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, United States
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42
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Huda R, Sipe GO, Breton-Provencher V, Cruz KG, Pho GN, Adam E, Gunter LM, Sullins A, Wickersham IR, Sur M. Distinct prefrontal top-down circuits differentially modulate sensorimotor behavior. Nat Commun 2020; 11:6007. [PMID: 33243980 PMCID: PMC7691329 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19772-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensorimotor behaviors require processing of behaviorally relevant sensory cues and the ability to select appropriate responses from a vast behavioral repertoire. Modulation by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is thought to be key for both processes, but the precise role of specific circuits remains unclear. We examined the sensorimotor function of anatomically distinct outputs from a subdivision of the mouse PFC, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Using a visually guided two-choice behavioral paradigm with multiple cue-response mappings, we dissociated the sensory and motor response components of sensorimotor control. Projection-specific two-photon calcium imaging and optogenetic manipulations show that ACC outputs to the superior colliculus, a key midbrain structure for response selection, principally coordinate specific motor responses. Importantly, ACC outputs exert control by reducing the innate response bias of the superior colliculus. In contrast, ACC outputs to the visual cortex facilitate sensory processing of visual cues. Our results ascribe motor and sensory roles to ACC projections to the superior colliculus and the visual cortex and demonstrate for the first time a circuit motif for PFC function wherein anatomically non-overlapping output pathways coordinate complementary but distinct aspects of visual sensorimotor behavior. The neural circuit mechanisms for sensorimotor control by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are unclear. Here, the authors show that PFC outputs to the visual cortex and superior colliculus respectively facilitate sensory processing and action selection, allowing the PFC to independently control complementary but distinct behavioral functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafiq Huda
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| | - Grayson O Sipe
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Vincent Breton-Provencher
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - K Guadalupe Cruz
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Gerald N Pho
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Elie Adam
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Liadan M Gunter
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Austin Sullins
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ian R Wickersham
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Mriganka Sur
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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43
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Lee M, Mueller A, Moore T. Differences in Noradrenaline Receptor Expression Across Different Neuronal Subtypes in Macaque Frontal Eye Field. Front Neuroanat 2020; 14:574130. [PMID: 33328901 PMCID: PMC7732642 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2020.574130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive functions such as attention and working memory are modulated by noradrenaline receptors in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The frontal eye field (FEF) has been shown to play an important role in visual spatial attention. However, little is known about the underlying circuitry. The aim of this study was to characterize the expression of noradrenaline receptors on different pyramidal neuron and inhibitory interneuron subtypes in macaque FEF. Using immunofluorescence, we found broad expression of noradrenaline receptors across all layers of the FEF. Differences in the expression of different noradrenaline receptors were observed across different inhibitory interneuron subtypes. No significant differences were observed in the expression of noradrenaline receptors across different pyramidal neuron subtypes. However, we found that putative long-range projecting pyramidal neurons expressed all noradrenaline receptor subtypes at a much higher proportion than any of the other neuronal subtypes. Nearly all long-range projecting pyramidal neurons expressed all types of noradrenaline receptor, suggesting that there is no receptor-specific machinery acting on these long-range projecting pyramidal neurons. This pattern of expression among long-range projecting pyramidal neurons suggests a mechanism by which noradrenergic modulation of FEF activity influences attention and working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Lee
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Adrienne Mueller
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Tirin Moore
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
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44
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Fiebelkorn IC, Kastner S. Spike Timing in the Attention Network Predicts Behavioral Outcome Prior to Target Selection. Neuron 2020; 109:177-188.e4. [PMID: 33098762 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.09.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
There has been little evidence linking changes in spiking activity that occur prior to a spatially predictable target (i.e., prior to target selection) to behavioral outcomes, despite such preparatory changes being widely assumed to enhance the sensitivity of sensory processing. We simultaneously recorded from frontal and parietal nodes of the attention network while macaques performed a spatial cueing task. When anticipating a spatially predictable target, different patterns of coupling between spike timing and the oscillatory phase in local field potentials-but not changes in spike rate-were predictive of different behavioral outcomes. These behaviorally relevant differences in local and between-region synchronization occurred among specific cell types that were defined based on their sensory and motor properties, providing insight into the mechanisms underlying enhanced sensory processing prior to target selection. We propose that these changes in neural synchronization reflect differential anticipatory engagement of the network nodes and functional units that shape attention-related sampling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian C Fiebelkorn
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| | - Sabine Kastner
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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45
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Stallone A, Cicone A, Materassi M. New insights and best practices for the successful use of Empirical Mode Decomposition, Iterative Filtering and derived algorithms. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15161. [PMID: 32939024 PMCID: PMC7495475 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72193-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Algorithms based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Iterative Filtering (IF) are largely implemented for representing a signal as superposition of simpler well-behaved components called Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs). Although they are more suitable than traditional methods for the analysis of nonlinear and nonstationary signals, they could be easily misused if their known limitations, together with the assumptions they rely on, are not carefully considered. In this work, we examine the main pitfalls and provide caveats for the proper use of the EMD- and IF-based algorithms. Specifically, we address the problems related to boundary errors, to the presence of spikes or jumps in the signal and to the decomposition of highly-stochastic signals. The consequences of an improper usage of these techniques are discussed and clarified also by analysing real data and performing numerical simulations. Finally, we provide the reader with the best practices to maximize the quality and meaningfulness of the decomposition produced by these techniques. In particular, a technique for the extension of signal to reduce the boundary effects is proposed; a careful handling of spikes and jumps in the signal is suggested; the concept of multi-scale statistical analysis is presented to treat highly stochastic signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Stallone
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143, Roma, Italy
| | - Antonio Cicone
- Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali dell'Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (IAPS-INAF), Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Roma, Italy.
| | - Massimo Materassi
- Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISC-CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino (Firenze), Italy
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46
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Kreiter AK. Synchrony, flexible network configuration, and linking neural events to behavior. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2020.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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47
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Neupane S, Guitton D, Pack CC. Perisaccadic remapping: What? How? Why? Rev Neurosci 2020; 31:505-520. [PMID: 32242834 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2019-0097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 12/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
About 25 years ago, the discovery of receptive field (RF) remapping in the parietal cortex of nonhuman primates revealed that visual RFs, widely assumed to have a fixed retinotopic organization, can change position before every saccade. Measuring such changes can be deceptively difficult. As a result, studies that followed have generated a fascinating but somewhat confusing picture of the phenomenon. In this review, we describe how observations of RF remapping depend on the spatial and temporal sampling of visual RFs and saccade directions. Further, we summarize some of the theories of how remapping might occur in neural circuitry. Finally, based on neurophysiological and psychophysical observations, we discuss the ways in which remapping information might facilitate computations in downstream brain areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujaya Neupane
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Daniel Guitton
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A2B4, Canada
| | - Christopher C Pack
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A2B4, Canada
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48
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Sharafeldin A, Mock VL, Meisenhelter S, Hembrook-Short JR, Briggs F. Changes in Local Network Activity Approximated by Reverse Spike-Triggered Local Field Potentials Predict the Focus of Attention. Cereb Cortex Commun 2020; 1:tgaa014. [PMID: 32864614 PMCID: PMC7446294 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgaa014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The effects of visual spatial attention on neuronal firing rates have been well characterized for neurons throughout the visual processing hierarchy. Interestingly, the mechanisms by which attention generates more or fewer spikes in response to a visual stimulus remain unknown. One possibility is that attention boosts the likelihood that synaptic inputs to a neuron result in spikes. We performed a novel analysis to measure local field potentials (LFPs) just prior to spikes, or reverse spike-triggered LFP “wavelets,” for neurons recorded in primary visual cortex (V1) of monkeys performing a contrast change detection task requiring covert shifts in visual spatial attention. We used dimensionality reduction to define LFP wavelet shapes with single numerical values, and we found that LFP wavelet shape changes correlated with changes in neuronal firing rate. We then tested whether a simple classifier could predict monkeys’ focus of attention from LFP wavelet shape. LFP wavelet shapes sampled in discrete windows were predictive of the locus of attention for some neuronal types. These findings suggest that LFP wavelets are a useful proxy for local network activity influencing spike generation, and changes in LFP wavelet shape are predictive of the focus of attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdelrahman Sharafeldin
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Vanessa L Mock
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.,Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.,Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Stephen Meisenhelter
- Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | | | - Farran Briggs
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.,Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.,Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.,Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
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49
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Xu X, Hanganu-Opatz IL, Bieler M. Cross-Talk of Low-Level Sensory and High-Level Cognitive Processing: Development, Mechanisms, and Relevance for Cross-Modal Abilities of the Brain. Front Neurorobot 2020; 14:7. [PMID: 32116637 PMCID: PMC7034303 DOI: 10.3389/fnbot.2020.00007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of cross-modal learning capabilities requires the interaction of neural areas accounting for sensory and cognitive processing. Convergence of multiple sensory inputs is observed in low-level sensory cortices including primary somatosensory (S1), visual (V1), and auditory cortex (A1), as well as in high-level areas such as prefrontal cortex (PFC). Evidence shows that local neural activity and functional connectivity between sensory cortices participate in cross-modal processing. However, little is known about the functional interplay between neural areas underlying sensory and cognitive processing required for cross-modal learning capabilities across life. Here we review our current knowledge on the interdependence of low- and high-level cortices for the emergence of cross-modal processing in rodents. First, we summarize the mechanisms underlying the integration of multiple senses and how cross-modal processing in primary sensory cortices might be modified by top-down modulation of the PFC. Second, we examine the critical factors and developmental mechanisms that account for the interaction between neuronal networks involved in sensory and cognitive processing. Finally, we discuss the applicability and relevance of cross-modal processing for brain-inspired intelligent robotics. An in-depth understanding of the factors and mechanisms controlling cross-modal processing might inspire the refinement of robotic systems by better mimicking neural computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaxia Xu
- Developmental Neurophysiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ileana L Hanganu-Opatz
- Developmental Neurophysiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Malte Bieler
- Laboratory for Neural Computation, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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50
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Mueller A, Krock RM, Shepard S, Moore T. Dopamine Receptor Expression Among Local and Visual Cortex-Projecting Frontal Eye Field Neurons. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:148-164. [PMID: 31038690 PMCID: PMC7029694 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Revised: 02/14/2019] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopaminergic modulation of prefrontal cortex plays an important role in numerous cognitive processes, including attention. The frontal eye field (FEF) is modulated by dopamine and has an established role in visual attention, yet the underlying circuitry upon which dopamine acts is not known. We compared the expression of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors (D1Rs and D2Rs) across different classes of FEF neurons, including those projecting to dorsal or ventral extrastriate cortex. First, we found that both D1Rs and D2Rs are more prevalent on pyramidal neurons than on several classes of interneurons and are particularly prevalent on putatively long-range projecting pyramidals. Second, higher proportions of pyramidal neurons express D1Rs than D2Rs. Third, overall a higher proportion of inhibitory neurons expresses D2Rs than D1Rs. Fourth, among inhibitory interneurons, a significantly higher proportion of parvalbumin+ neurons expresses D2Rs than D1Rs, and a significantly higher proportion of calbindin+ neurons expresses D1Rs than D2Rs. Finally, compared with D2Rs, virtually all of the neurons with identified projections to both dorsal and ventral extrastriate visual cortex expressed D1Rs. Our results demonstrate that dopamine tends to act directly on the output of the FEF and that dopaminergic modulation of top-down projections to visual cortex is achieved predominately via D1Rs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne Mueller
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Rebecca M Krock
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Steven Shepard
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Tirin Moore
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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