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Chandrasekaran AN, Vermani A, Gupta P, Steinmetz N, Moore T, Sridharan D. Dissociable components of attention exhibit distinct neuronal signatures in primate visual cortex. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadi0645. [PMID: 38306428 PMCID: PMC10836731 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi0645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Attention can be deployed in multiple forms and facilitates behavior by influencing perceptual sensitivity and choice bias. Attention is also associated with a myriad of changes in sensory neural activity. Yet, the relationship between the behavioral components of attention and the accompanying changes in neural activity remains largely unresolved. We examined this relationship by quantifying sensitivity and bias in monkeys performing a task that dissociated eye movement responses from the focus of covert attention. Unexpectedly, bias, not sensitivity, increased at the focus of covert attention, whereas sensitivity increased at the location of planned eye movements. Furthermore, neuronal activity within visual area V4 varied robustly with bias, but not sensitivity, at the focus of covert attention. In contrast, correlated variability between neuronal pairs was lowest at the location of planned eye movements, and varied with sensitivity, but not bias. Thus, dissociable behavioral components of attention exhibit distinct neuronal signatures within the visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ayesha Vermani
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, KA, India
| | - Priyanka Gupta
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, KA, India
| | - Nicholas Steinmetz
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Tirin Moore
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Devarajan Sridharan
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, KA, India
- Computer Science and Automation, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, KA, India
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2
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Narasimhan S, Schriver BJ, Wang Q. Adaptive decision-making depends on pupil-linked arousal in rats performing tactile discrimination tasks. J Neurophysiol 2023; 130:1541-1551. [PMID: 37964751 PMCID: PMC11068411 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00309.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Perceptual decision-making is a dynamic cognitive process and is shaped by many factors, including behavioral state, reward contingency, and sensory environment. To understand the extent to which adaptive behavior in decision-making is dependent on pupil-linked arousal, we trained head-fixed rats to perform perceptual decision-making tasks and systematically manipulated the probability of Go and No-go stimuli while simultaneously measuring their pupil size in the tasks. Our data demonstrated that the animals adaptively modified their behavior in response to the changes in the sensory environment. The response probability to both Go and No-go stimuli decreased as the probability of the Go stimulus being presented decreased. Analyses within the signal detection theory framework showed that while the animals' perceptual sensitivity was invariant, their decision criterion increased as the probability of the Go stimulus decreased. Simulation results indicated that the adaptive increase in the decision criterion will increase possible water rewards during the task. Moreover, the adaptive decision-making is dependent on pupil-linked arousal as the increase in the decision criterion was the largest during low pupil-linked arousal periods. Taken together, our results demonstrated that the rats were able to adjust their decision-making to maximize rewards in the tasks, and that adaptive behavior in perceptual decision-making is dependent on pupil-linked arousal.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Perceptual decision-making is a dynamic cognitive process and is shaped by many factors. However, the extent to which changes in sensory environment result in adaptive decision-making remains poorly understood. Our data provided new experimental evidence demonstrating that the rats were able to adaptively modify their decision criterion to maximize water reward in response to changes in the statistics of the sensory environment. Furthermore, the adaptive decision-making is dependent on pupil-linked arousal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shreya Narasimhan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
| | - Brian J Schriver
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
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3
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Kim JH, Yin C, Merriam EP, Roth ZN. Pupil Size Is Sensitive to Low-Level Stimulus Features, Independent of Arousal-Related Modulation. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0005-23.2023. [PMID: 37699706 PMCID: PMC10585606 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0005-23.2023] [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: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Similar to a camera aperture, pupil size adjusts to the surrounding luminance. Unlike a camera, pupil size is additionally modulated both by stimulus properties and by cognitive processes, including attention and arousal, though the interdependence of these factors is unclear. We hypothesized that different stimulus properties interact to jointly modulate pupil size while remaining independent from the impact of arousal. We measured pupil responses from human observers to equiluminant stimuli during a demanding rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task at fixation and tested how response amplitude depends on contrast, spatial frequency, and reward level. We found that under constant luminance, unattended stimuli evoke responses that are separable from changes caused by general arousal or attention. We further uncovered a double-dissociation between task-related responses and stimulus-evoked responses, suggesting that different sources of pupil size modulation are independent of one another. Our results shed light on neural pathways underlying pupillary response.
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Affiliation(s)
- June Hee Kim
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Christine Yin
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Elisha P Merriam
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Zvi N Roth
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
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Veillette JP, Heald SLM, Wittenbrink B, Reis KS, Nusbaum HC. Single-trial visually evoked potentials predict both individual choice and market outcomes. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14340. [PMID: 37658206 PMCID: PMC10474019 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41613-4] [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: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023] Open
Abstract
A central assumption in the behavioral sciences is that choice behavior generalizes enough across individuals that measurements from a sampled group can predict the behavior of the population. Following from this assumption, the unit of behavioral sampling or measurement for most neuroimaging studies is the individual; however, cognitive neuroscience is increasingly acknowledging a dissociation between neural activity that predicts individual behavior and that which predicts the average or aggregate behavior of the population suggesting a greater importance of individual differences than is typically acknowledged. For instance, past work has demonstrated that some, but not all, of the neural activity observed during value-based decision-making is able to predict not just individual subjects' choices but also the success of products on large, online marketplaces-even when those two behavioral outcomes deviate from one another-suggesting that some neural component processes of decision-making generalize to aggregate market responses more readily across individuals than others do. While the bulk of such research has highlighted affect-related neural responses (i.e. in the nucleus accumbens) as a better predictor of group-level behavior than frontal cortical activity associated with the integration of more idiosyncratic choice components, more recent evidence has implicated responses in visual cortical regions as strong predictors of group preference. Taken together, these findings suggest a role of neural responses during early perception in reinforcing choice consistency across individuals and raise fundamental scientific questions about the role sensory systems in value-based decision-making processes. We use a multivariate pattern analysis approach to show that single-trial visually evoked electroencephalographic (EEG) activity can predict individual choice throughout the post-stimulus epoch; however, a nominally sparser set of activity predicts the aggregate behavior of the population. These findings support an account in which a subset of the neural activity underlying individual choice processes can scale to predict behavioral consistency across people, even when the choice behavior of the sample does not match the aggregate behavior of the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- John P Veillette
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, USA.
| | - Shannon L M Heald
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, USA
| | | | - Katherine S Reis
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, USA
| | - Howard C Nusbaum
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, USA
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5
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Sawetsuttipan P, Phunchongharn P, Ounjai K, Salazar A, Pongsuwan S, Intrachooto S, Serences JT, Itthipuripat S. Perceptual Difficulty Regulates Attentional Gain Modulations in Human Visual Cortex. J Neurosci 2023; 43:3312-3330. [PMID: 36963848 PMCID: PMC10162463 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0519-22.2023] [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: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Perceptual difficulty is sometimes used to manipulate selective attention. However, these two factors are logically distinct. Selective attention is defined by priority given to specific stimuli based on their behavioral relevance, whereas perceptual difficulty is often determined by perceptual demands required to discriminate relevant stimuli. That said, both perceptual difficulty and selective attention are thought to modulate the gain of neural responses in early sensory areas. Previous studies found that selectively attending to a stimulus or increasing perceptual difficulty enhanced the gain of neurons in visual cortex. However, some other studies suggest that perceptual difficulty can have either a null or even reversed effect on gain modulations in visual cortex. According to Yerkes-Dodson's Law, it is possible that this discrepancy arises because of an interaction between perceptual difficulty and attentional gain modulations yielding a nonlinear inverted-U function. Here, we used EEG to measure modulations in the visual cortex of male and female human participants performing an attention-cueing task where we systematically manipulated perceptual difficulty across blocks of trials. The behavioral and neural data implicate a nonlinear inverted-U relationship between selective attention and perceptual difficulty: a focused-attention cue led to larger response gain in both neural and behavioral data at intermediate difficulty levels compared with when the task was more or less difficult. Moreover, difficulty-related changes in attentional gain positively correlated with those predicted by quantitative modeling of the behavioral data. These findings suggest that perceptual difficulty mediates attention-related changes in perceptual performance via selective neural modulations in human visual cortex.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Both perceptual difficulty and selective attention are thought to influence perceptual performance by modulating response gain in early sensory areas. That said, less is known about how selective attention interacts with perceptual difficulty. Here, we measured neural gain modulations in the visual cortex of human participants performing an attention-cueing task where perceptual difficulty was systematically manipulated. Consistent with Yerkes-Dodson's Law, our behavioral and neural data implicate a nonlinear inverted-U relationship between selective attention and perceptual difficulty. These results suggest that perceptual difficulty mediates attention-related changes in perceptual performance via selective neural modulations in visual cortex, extending our understanding of the attentional operation under different levels of perceptual demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prapasiri Sawetsuttipan
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation, Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
- Computer Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
- Big Data Experience Center, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
| | - Phond Phunchongharn
- Computer Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
- Big Data Experience Center, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
| | - Kajornvut Ounjai
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation, Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
- Biological Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
| | - Annalisa Salazar
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-1090
| | - Sarigga Pongsuwan
- Happiness Science Hub, Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC), Bangkok 10260, Thailand
| | - Singh Intrachooto
- Happiness Science Hub, Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC), Bangkok 10260, Thailand
| | - John T Serences
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-1090
- Neurosciences Graduate Program and Kavli Foundation for the Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-1090
| | - Sirawaj Itthipuripat
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation, Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
- Big Data Experience Center, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
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6
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Chuquichambi EG, Vartanian O, Skov M, Corradi GB, Nadal M, Silvia PJ, Munar E. How universal is preference for visual curvature? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2022; 1518:151-165. [PMID: 36285721 PMCID: PMC10091794 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Evidence dating back a century shows that humans are sensitive to and exhibit a preference for visual curvature. This effect has been observed in different age groups, human cultures, and primate species, suggesting that a preference for curvature could be universal. At the same time, several studies have found that preference for curvature is modulated by contextual and individual factors, casting doubt on this hypothesis. To resolve these conflicting findings, we conducted a systematic meta-analysis of studies that have investigated the preference for visual curvature. Our meta-analysis included 61 studies which provided 106 independent samples and 309 effect sizes. The results of a three-level random effects model revealed a Hedges' g of 0.39-consistent with a medium effect size. Further analyses revealed that preference for curvature is moderated by four factors: presentation time, stimulus type, expertise, and task. Together, our results suggest that preference for visual curvature is a reliable but not universal phenomenon and is influenced by factors other than perceptual information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erick G. Chuquichambi
- Human Evolution and Cognition Group (EvoCog)University of the Balearic IslandsPalma de MallorcaSpain
| | - Oshin Vartanian
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Martin Skov
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic ResonanceCopenhagen University Hospital HvidovreHvidovreDenmark
- Decision Neuroscience Research ClusterCopenhagen Business SchoolFrederiksbergDenmark
| | - Guido B. Corradi
- Department of PsychologyFaculty of HealthUniversity Camilo José CelaMadridSpain
| | - Marcos Nadal
- Human Evolution and Cognition Group (EvoCog)University of the Balearic IslandsPalma de MallorcaSpain
| | - Paul J. Silvia
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of North Carolina at GreensboroGreensboroNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Enric Munar
- Human Evolution and Cognition Group (EvoCog)University of the Balearic IslandsPalma de MallorcaSpain
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7
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Ghosh S, Maunsell JHR. Neuronal correlates of selective attention and effort in visual area V4 are invariant of motivational context. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabc8812. [PMID: 35687684 PMCID: PMC9187239 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc8812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Task demands can differentially engage two fundamental attention components: selectivity (spatial bias) and effort (total nonselective attentional intensity). The relative contributions and interactions of these components in modulating neuronal signals remain unknown. We recorded V4 neurons while monkeys' spatially selective attention and effort were independently controlled by adjusting either task difficulty or reward size at two locations. Neurons were robustly modulated by either selective attention or effort. Notably, increasing overall effort to improve performance at a distant site reduced neuronal responses even when performance was unchanged for receptive field stimuli. This interaction between attentional selectivity and effort was evident in single-trial spiking and can be explained by divisive normalization of spatially distributed behavioral performance at the single-neuron level. Changing motivation using task difficulty or reward produced indistinguishable effects. These results provide a cellular-level mechanism of how attention components integrate to modulate sensory processing in different motivational contexts.
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Csorba BA, Krause MR, Zanos TP, Pack CC. Long-range cortical synchronization supports abrupt visual learning. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2467-2479.e4. [PMID: 35523181 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Visual plasticity declines sharply after the critical period, yet we easily learn to recognize new faces and places, even as adults. Such learning is often characterized by a "moment of insight," an abrupt and dramatic improvement in recognition. The mechanisms that support abrupt learning are unknown, but one hypothesis is that they involve changes in synchronization between brain regions. To test this hypothesis, we used a behavioral task in which non-human primates rapidly learned to recognize novel images and to associate them with specific responses. Simultaneous recordings from inferotemporal and prefrontal cortices revealed a transient synchronization of neural activity between these areas that peaked around the moment of insight. Synchronization was strongest between inferotemporal sites that encoded images and reward-sensitive prefrontal sites. Moreover, its magnitude intensified gradually over image exposures, suggesting that abrupt learning is the culmination of a search for informative signals within a circuit linking sensory information to task demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bennett A Csorba
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
| | - Matthew R Krause
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | | | - Christopher C Pack
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
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9
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Alkan Y, Mirpour K, Bisley JW. Behavior in a visual search task with moving dot stimuli. J Neurophysiol 2022; 127:1564-1573. [PMID: 35583976 PMCID: PMC9169819 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00375.2021] [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: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the neuronal mechanisms underlying the processing of visual attention requires a well-designed behavioral task that allows investigators to clearly describe the behavioral effects of attention. Here, we introduce a behavioral paradigm in which one, two or four moving dot stimuli are used in a visual search paradigm that includes two additional attentional conditions. Two animals were trained to make a saccade to a target (a dot patch with net rightward motion) and hold central fixation if no target was present. To implement covert visual attention, we included trials in which a 100% valid spatial cue appeared and trials in which the color of the fixation point indicated, with 100% validity, which of four colored dot patches the animals should attend to. We analyzed the behavior in terms of reaction times and signal detection theory metrics d-prime (representing sensitivity) and criteria. In both animals, we found that reaction times were greater for larger set-sizes and that the introduction of an attentional cue reduced the reaction times substantially. We also found that both animals showed increases in criteria, but no change in sensitivity, as set-size increased and the attentional cues led to an increase in sensitivity, with only some change in criteria. Our results illustrate how the animals perform this task and imply that both animals chose similar strategies. Importantly, this will allow future neurophysiological studies to probe not only the effects of attention, but will give the possibility of seeing whether different neural mechanisms drive changes in criteria and d-prime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yelda Alkan
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Koorosh Mirpour
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - James W Bisley
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology and the Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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10
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Hanning NM, Wollenberg L, Jonikaitis D, Deubel H. Eye and hand movements disrupt attentional control. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262567. [PMID: 35045115 PMCID: PMC8769330 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Voluntary attentional control is the ability to selectively focus on a subset of visual information in the presence of other competing stimuli–a marker of cognitive control enabling flexible, goal-driven behavior. To test its robustness, we contrasted attentional control with the most common source of attentional orienting in daily life: attention shifts prior to goal-directed eye and hand movements. In a multi-tasking paradigm, human participants attended at a location while planning eye or hand movements elsewhere. Voluntary attentional control suffered with every simultaneous action plan, even under reduced task difficulty and memory load–factors known to interfere with attentional control. Furthermore, the performance cost was limited to voluntary attention: We observed simultaneous attention benefits at two movement targets without attentional competition between them. This demonstrates that the visual system allows for the concurrent representation of multiple attentional foci. Since attentional control is extremely fragile and dominated by premotor attention shifts, we propose that action-driven selection plays the superordinate role for visual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Maria Hanning
- Department Psychologie, Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Luca Wollenberg
- Department Psychologie, Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
- Department Biologie, Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg, München, Germany
| | - Donatas Jonikaitis
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States of America
| | - Heiner Deubel
- Department Psychologie, Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
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11
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Murray EA, Fellows LK. Prefrontal cortex interactions with the amygdala in primates. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:163-179. [PMID: 34446829 PMCID: PMC8616954 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01128-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This review addresses functional interactions between the primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala, with emphasis on their contributions to behavior and cognition. The interplay between these two telencephalic structures contributes to adaptive behavior and to the evolutionary success of all primate species. In our species, dysfunction in this circuitry creates vulnerabilities to psychopathologies. Here, we describe amygdala-PFC contributions to behaviors that have direct relevance to Darwinian fitness: learned approach and avoidance, foraging, predator defense, and social signaling, which have in common the need for flexibility and sensitivity to specific and rapidly changing contexts. Examples include the prediction of positive outcomes, such as food availability, food desirability, and various social rewards, or of negative outcomes, such as threats of harm from predators or conspecifics. To promote fitness optimally, these stimulus-outcome associations need to be rapidly updated when an associative contingency changes or when the value of a predicted outcome changes. We review evidence from nonhuman primates implicating the PFC, the amygdala, and their functional interactions in these processes, with links to experimental work and clinical findings in humans where possible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lesley K Fellows
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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12
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Monosov IE, Rushworth MFS. Interactions between ventrolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex during learning and behavioural change. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:196-210. [PMID: 34234288 PMCID: PMC8617208 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01079-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Hypotheses and beliefs guide credit assignment - the process of determining which previous events or actions caused an outcome. Adaptive hypothesis formation and testing are crucial in uncertain and changing environments in which associations and meanings are volatile. Despite primates' abilities to form and test hypotheses, establishing what is causally responsible for the occurrence of particular outcomes remains a fundamental challenge for credit assignment and learning. Hypotheses about what surprises are due to stochasticity inherent in an environment as opposed to real, systematic changes are necessary for identifying the environment's predictive features, but are often hard to test. We review evidence that two highly interconnected frontal cortical regions, anterior cingulate cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal area 47/12o, provide a biological substrate for linking two crucial components of hypothesis-formation and testing: the control of information seeking and credit assignment. Neuroimaging, targeted disruptions, and neurophysiological studies link an anterior cingulate - 47/12o circuit to generation of exploratory behaviour, non-instrumental information seeking, and interpretation of subsequent feedback in the service of credit assignment. Our observations support the idea that information seeking and credit assignment are linked at the level of neural circuits and explain why this circuit is important for ensuring behaviour is flexible and adaptive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya E Monosov
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Pain Center, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Matthew F S Rushworth
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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13
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Traner MR, Bromberg-Martin ES, Monosov IE. How the value of the environment controls persistence in visual search. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009662. [PMID: 34905548 PMCID: PMC8714092 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Classic foraging theory predicts that humans and animals aim to gain maximum reward per unit time. However, in standard instrumental conditioning tasks individuals adopt an apparently suboptimal strategy: they respond slowly when the expected value is low. This reward-related bias is often explained as reduced motivation in response to low rewards. Here we present evidence this behavior is associated with a complementary increased motivation to search the environment for alternatives. We trained monkeys to search for reward-related visual targets in environments with different values. We found that the reward-related bias scaled with environment value, was consistent with persistent searching after the target was already found, and was associated with increased exploratory gaze to objects in the environment. A novel computational model of foraging suggests that this search strategy could be adaptive in naturalistic settings where both environments and the objects within them provide partial information about hidden, uncertain rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R. Traner
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Ethan S. Bromberg-Martin
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Ilya E. Monosov
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- Pain Center, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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14
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Srinath R, Ruff DA, Cohen MR. Attention improves information flow between neuronal populations without changing the communication subspace. Curr Biol 2021; 31:5299-5313.e4. [PMID: 34699782 PMCID: PMC8665027 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Visual attention allows observers to change the influence of different parts of a visual scene on their behavior, suggesting that information can be flexibly shared between visual cortex and neurons involved in decision making. We investigated the neural substrate of flexible information routing by analyzing the activity of populations of visual neurons in the medial temporal area (MT) and oculo-motor neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) while rhesus monkeys switched spatial attention. We demonstrated that attention increases the efficacy of visuomotor communication: trial-to-trial variability in SC population activity could be better predicted by the activity of the MT population (and vice versa) when attention was directed toward their joint receptive fields. Surprisingly, this improvement in prediction was not explained by changes in the dimensionality of the shared subspace or in the magnitude of local or shared pairwise noise correlations. These results lay a foundation for future theoretical and experimental studies into how visual attention can flexibly change information flow between sensory and decision neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramanujan Srinath
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Douglas A Ruff
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Marlene R Cohen
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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15
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A Stable Population Code for Attention in Prefrontal Cortex Leads a Dynamic Attention Code in Visual Cortex. J Neurosci 2021; 41:9163-9176. [PMID: 34583956 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0608-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention often requires maintaining a stable mental state over time while simultaneously improving perceptual sensitivity. These requirements place conflicting demands on neural populations, as sensitivity implies a robust response to perturbation by incoming stimuli, which is antithetical to stability. Functional specialization of cortical areas provides one potential mechanism to resolve this conflict. We reasoned that attention signals in executive control areas might be highly stable over time, reflecting maintenance of the cognitive state, thereby freeing up sensory areas to be more sensitive to sensory input (i.e., unstable), which would be reflected by more dynamic attention signals in those areas. To test these predictions, we simultaneously recorded neural populations in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and visual cortical area V4 in rhesus macaque monkeys performing an endogenous spatial selective attention task. Using a decoding approach, we found that the neural code for attention states in PFC was substantially more stable over time compared with the attention code in V4 on a moment-by-moment basis, in line with our guiding thesis. Moreover, attention signals in PFC predicted the future attention state of V4 better than vice versa, consistent with a top-down role for PFC in attention. These results suggest a functional specialization of attention mechanisms across cortical areas with a division of labor. PFC signals the cognitive state and maintains this state stably over time, whereas V4 responds to sensory input in a manner dynamically modulated by that cognitive state.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Attention requires maintaining a stable mental state while simultaneously improving perceptual sensitivity. We hypothesized that these two demands (stability and sensitivity) are distributed between prefrontal and visual cortical areas, respectively. Specifically, we predicted attention signals in visual cortex would be less stable than in prefrontal cortex, and furthermore prefrontal cortical signals would predict attention signals in visual cortex in line with the hypothesized role of prefrontal cortex in top-down executive control. Our results are consistent with suggestions deriving from previous work using separate recordings in the two brain areas in different animals performing different tasks and represent the first direct evidence in support of this hypothesis with simultaneous multiarea recordings within individual animals.
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16
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Ghosh S, Maunsell JHR. Single trial neuronal activity dynamics of attentional intensity in monkey visual area V4. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2003. [PMID: 33790282 PMCID: PMC8012644 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22281-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how activity of visual neurons represents distinct components of attention and their dynamics that account for improved visual performance remains elusive because single-unit experiments have not isolated the intensive aspect of attention from attentional selectivity. We isolated attentional intensity and its single trial dynamics as determined by spatially non-selective attentional performance in an orientation discrimination task while recording from neurons in monkey visual area V4. We found that attentional intensity is a distinct cognitive signal that can be distinguished from spatial selectivity, reward expectations and motor actions. V4 spiking on single trials encodes a combination of sensory and cognitive signals on different time scales. Attentional intensity and the detection of behaviorally relevant sensory signals are well represented, but immediate reward expectation and behavioral choices are poorly represented in V4 spiking. These results provide a detailed representation of perceptual and cognitive signals in V4 that are crucial for attentional performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supriya Ghosh
- Department of Neurobiology and Neuroscience Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - John H R Maunsell
- Department of Neurobiology and Neuroscience Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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17
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Bean NL, Stein BE, Rowland BA. Stimulus value gates multisensory integration. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 53:3142-3159. [PMID: 33667027 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The brain enhances its perceptual and behavioral decisions by integrating information from its multiple senses in what are believed to be optimal ways. This phenomenon of "multisensory integration" appears to be pre-conscious, effortless, and highly efficient. The present experiments examined whether experience could modify this seemingly automatic process. Cats were trained in a localization task in which congruent pairs of auditory-visual stimuli are normally integrated to enhance detection and orientation/approach performance. Consistent with the results of previous studies, animals more reliably detected and approached cross-modal pairs than their modality-specific component stimuli, regardless of whether the pairings were novel or familiar. However, when provided evidence that one of the modality-specific component stimuli had no value (it was not rewarded) animals ceased integrating it with other cues, and it lost its previous ability to enhance approach behaviors. Cross-modal pairings involving that stimulus failed to elicit enhanced responses even when the paired stimuli were congruent and mutually informative. However, the stimulus regained its ability to enhance responses when it was associated with reward. This suggests that experience can selectively block access of stimuli (i.e., filter inputs) to the multisensory computation. Because this filtering process results in the loss of useful information, its operation and behavioral consequences are not optimal. Nevertheless, the process can be of substantial value in natural environments, rich in dynamic stimuli, by using experience to minimize the impact of stimuli unlikely to be of biological significance, and reducing the complexity of the problem of matching signals across the senses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi L Bean
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Barry E Stein
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
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18
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Cowley BR, Snyder AC, Acar K, Williamson RC, Yu BM, Smith MA. Slow Drift of Neural Activity as a Signature of Impulsivity in Macaque Visual and Prefrontal Cortex. Neuron 2020; 108:551-567.e8. [PMID: 32810433 PMCID: PMC7822647 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.07.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
An animal's decision depends not only on incoming sensory evidence but also on its fluctuating internal state. This state embodies multiple cognitive factors, such as arousal and fatigue, but it is unclear how these factors influence the neural processes that encode sensory stimuli and form a decision. We discovered that, unprompted by task conditions, animals slowly shifted their likelihood of detecting stimulus changes over the timescale of tens of minutes. Neural population activity from visual area V4, as well as from prefrontal cortex, slowly drifted together with these behavioral fluctuations. We found that this slow drift, rather than altering the encoding of the sensory stimulus, acted as an impulsivity signal, overriding sensory evidence to dictate the final decision. Overall, this work uncovers an internal state embedded in population activity across multiple brain areas and sheds further light on how internal states contribute to the decision-making process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin R Cowley
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Adam C Snyder
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA; Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Katerina Acar
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Ryan C Williamson
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Byron M Yu
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Matthew A Smith
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
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19
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Task-related activity in human visual cortex. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000921. [PMID: 33156829 PMCID: PMC7673548 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain exhibits widespread endogenous responses in the absence of visual stimuli, even at the earliest stages of visual cortical processing. Such responses have been studied in monkeys using optical imaging with a limited field of view over visual cortex. Here, we used functional MRI (fMRI) in human participants to study the link between arousal and endogenous responses in visual cortex. The response that we observed was tightly entrained to task timing, was spatially extensive, and was independent of visual stimulation. We found that this response follows dynamics similar to that of pupil size and heart rate, suggesting that task-related activity is related to arousal. Finally, we found that higher reward increased response amplitude while decreasing its trial-to-trial variability (i.e., the noise). Computational simulations suggest that increased temporal precision underlies both of these observations. Our findings are consistent with optical imaging studies in monkeys and support the notion that arousal increases precision of neural activity. The brain exhibits widespread endogenous responses in the absence of visual stimuli, even at the earliest stages of visual cortical processing. This fMRI study characterizes a widespread hemodynamic response in early visual cortex that is not related to visual input but instead reflects a participant’s engagement in a task, is modulated by expected monetary reward, and may reflect neural quenching.
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20
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Takagaki K, Krug K. The effects of reward and social context on visual processing for perceptual decision-making. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2020.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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21
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Parker AJ. Intermediate level cortical areas and the multiple roles of area V4. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2020.07.003] [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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22
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Schonberg T, Katz LN. A Neural Pathway for Nonreinforced Preference Change. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:504-514. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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23
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Krug K. Coding Perceptual Decisions: From Single Units to Emergent Signaling Properties in Cortical Circuits. Annu Rev Vis Sci 2020; 6:387-409. [PMID: 32600168 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-vision-030320-041223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Spiking activity in single neurons of the primate visual cortex has been tightly linked to perceptual decisions. Any mechanism that reads out these perceptual signals to support behavior must respect the underlying neuroanatomy that shapes the functional properties of sensory neurons. Spatial distribution and timing of inputs to the next processing levels are critical, as conjoint activity of precursor neurons increases the spiking rate of downstream neurons and ultimately drives behavior. I set out how correlated activity might coalesce into a micropool of task-sensitive neurons signaling a particular percept to determine perceptual decision signals locally and for flexible interarea transmission depending on the task context. As data from more and more neurons and their complex interactions are analyzed, the space of computational mechanisms must be constrained based on what is plausible within neurobiological limits. This review outlines experiments to test the new perspectives offered by these extended methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristine Krug
- Lehrstuhl für Sensorische Physiologie, Institut für Biologie, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; .,Leibniz-Institut für Neurobiologie, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany.,Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3PT, United Kingdom
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24
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Shapcott KA, Schmiedt JT, Kouroupaki K, Kienitz R, Lazar A, Singer W, Schmid MC. Reward-Related Suppression of Neural Activity in Macaque Visual Area V4. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:4871-4881. [PMID: 32350517 PMCID: PMC7391271 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In order for organisms to survive, they need to detect rewarding stimuli, for example, food or a mate, in a complex environment with many competing stimuli. These rewarding stimuli should be detected even if they are nonsalient or irrelevant to the current goal. The value-driven theory of attentional selection proposes that this detection takes place through reward-associated stimuli automatically engaging attentional mechanisms. But how this is achieved in the brain is not very well understood. Here, we investigate the effect of differential reward on the multiunit activity in visual area V4 of monkeys performing a perceptual judgment task. Surprisingly, instead of finding reward-related increases in neural responses to the perceptual target, we observed a large suppression at the onset of the reward indicating cues. Therefore, while previous research showed that reward increases neural activity, here we report a decrease. More suppression was caused by cues associated with higher reward than with lower reward, although neither cue was informative about the perceptually correct choice. This finding of reward-associated neural suppression further highlights normalization as a general cortical mechanism and is consistent with predictions of the value-driven attention theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine A Shapcott
- Schmid Lab, Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt a. M. 60528, Germany.,Singer Lab, Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt a. M. 60528, Germany.,Singer Group, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Frankfurt a. M. 60438, Germany
| | - Joscha T Schmiedt
- Schmid Lab, Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt a. M. 60528, Germany
| | - Kleopatra Kouroupaki
- Schmid Lab, Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt a. M. 60528, Germany
| | - Ricardo Kienitz
- Schmid Lab, Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt a. M. 60528, Germany.,Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.,Epilepsy Center Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Center of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Goethe University, Frankfurt a. M. 60528, Germany
| | - Andreea Lazar
- Singer Lab, Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt a. M. 60528, Germany.,Singer Group, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Frankfurt a. M. 60438, Germany
| | - Wolf Singer
- Singer Lab, Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt a. M. 60528, Germany.,Singer Group, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Frankfurt a. M. 60438, Germany
| | - Michael C Schmid
- Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.,Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg 1700, Switzerland
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25
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Attention can be subdivided into neurobiological components corresponding to distinct behavioral effects. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:26187-26194. [PMID: 31871179 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1902286116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Attention is a common but highly complex term associated with a large number of distinct behavioral and perceptual phenomena. In the brain, attention-related changes in neuronal activity are observed in widespread structures. The many distinct behavioral and neuronal phenomena related to attention suggest that it might be subdivided into components corresponding to distinct biological mechanisms. Recent neurophysiological studies in monkeys have isolated behavioral changes related to attention along the 2 indices of signal detection theory and found that these 2 behavioral changes are associated with distinct neuronal changes in different brain areas. These results support the view that attention is made up of distinct neurobiological mechanisms.
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26
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Arcizet F, Mirpour K, Foster DJ, Bisley JW. Activity in LIP, But not V4, Matches Performance When Attention is Spread. Cereb Cortex 2019; 28:4195-4209. [PMID: 29069324 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The enhancement of neuronal responses in many visual areas while animals perform spatial attention tasks has widely been thought to be the neural correlate of visual attention, but it is unclear whether the presence or absence of this modulation contributes to our striking inability to notice changes in change blindness examples. We asked whether neuronal responses in visual area V4 and the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) in posterior parietal cortex could explain the limited ability of subjects to attend multiple items in a display. We trained animals to perform a change detection task in which they had to compare 2 arrays of stimuli separated briefly in time and found that each animal's performance decreased as function of set-size. Neuronal discriminability in V4 was consistent across set-sizes, but decreased for higher set-sizes in LIP. The introduction of a reward bias produced attentional enhancement in V4, but this could not explain the vast improvement in performance, whereas the enhancement in LIP responses could. We suggest that behavioral set-size effects and the marked improvement in performance with focused attention may not be related to response enhancement in V4 but, instead, may occur in or on the way to LIP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrice Arcizet
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Koorosh Mirpour
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Daniel J Foster
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - James W Bisley
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Psychology and the Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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27
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Visual fixation patterns during economic choice reflect covert valuation processes that emerge with learning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:22795-22801. [PMID: 31636178 PMCID: PMC6842638 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1906662116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Where we direct our gaze can have a big impact on what we choose. However, where we choose to gaze during the decision process is not well-characterized, despite the important role it plays. In our study, monkeys performed a simple decision-making experiment where they were free to look around a computer screen showing choice options. They then indicated their economic choice with a joystick movement. When choice options appeared, monkeys rapidly gazed toward more valuable and novel stimuli—suggesting there is a system that orients gaze toward important information. However, despite the gaze preference for novel stimuli, subjects did not prefer to choose them. This suggests the mechanisms governing value-guided attentional capture and value-guided choice are dissociable. Visual fixations play a vital role in decision making. Recent studies have demonstrated that the longer subjects fixate an option, the more likely they are to choose it. However, the role of evaluating stimuli covertly (i.e., without fixating them), and how covert evaluations determine where to subsequently fixate, remains relatively unexplored. Here, we trained monkeys to perform a decision-making task where they made binary choices between reward-predictive stimuli which were well-learned (“overtrained”), recently learned (“novel”), or a combination of both (“mixed”). Subjects were free to saccade around the screen and make a choice (via joystick response) at any time. Subjects rarely fixated both options, yet choice behavior was better explained by assuming the values of both stimuli governed choices. The first fixation latency was fast (∼150 ms) but, surprisingly, its direction was value-driven. This suggests covert evaluation of stimulus values prior to first saccade. This was particularly evident for overtrained stimuli. For novel stimuli, first fixations became increasingly value-driven throughout a behavioral session. However, this improvement lagged behind learning of accurate economic choices, suggesting separate processes governed their learning. Finally, mixed trials revealed a strong bias toward fixating the novel stimulus first but no bias toward choosing it. Our results suggest that the primate brain contains fast covert evaluation mechanisms for guiding fixations toward highly valuable and novel information. By employing such covert mechanisms, fixation behavior becomes dissociable from the value comparison processes that drive final choice. This implies that primates use separable decision systems for value-guided fixations and value-guided choice.
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28
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Ruff DA, Cohen MR. Simultaneous multi-area recordings suggest that attention improves performance by reshaping stimulus representations. Nat Neurosci 2019; 22:1669-1676. [PMID: 31477898 PMCID: PMC6760994 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0477-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Visual attention dramatically improves individuals' ability to see and modulates the responses of neurons in every known visual and oculomotor area, but whether such modulations can account for perceptual improvements is unclear. We measured the relationship between populations of visual neurons, oculomotor neurons and behavior during detection and discrimination tasks. We found that neither of the two prominent hypothesized neuronal mechanisms underlying attention (which concern changes in information coding and the way sensory information is read out) provide a satisfying account of the observed behavioral improvements. Instead, our results are more consistent with the hypothesis that attention reshapes the representation of attended stimuli to more effectively influence behavior. Our results suggest a path toward understanding the neural underpinnings of perception and cognition in health and disease by analyzing neuronal responses in ways that are constrained by behavior and interactions between brain areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas A Ruff
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Marlene R Cohen
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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29
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Itthipuripat S, Vo VA, Sprague TC, Serences JT. Value-driven attentional capture enhances distractor representations in early visual cortex. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000186. [PMID: 31398186 PMCID: PMC6703696 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
When a behaviorally relevant stimulus has been previously associated with reward, behavioral responses are faster and more accurate compared to equally relevant but less valuable stimuli. Conversely, task-irrelevant stimuli that were previously associated with a high reward can capture attention and distract processing away from relevant stimuli (e.g., seeing a chocolate bar in the pantry when you are looking for a nice, healthy apple). Although increasing the value of task-relevant stimuli systematically up-regulates neural responses in early visual cortex to facilitate information processing, it is not clear whether the value of task-irrelevant distractors influences behavior via competition in early visual cortex or via competition at later stages of decision-making and response selection. Here, we measured functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in human visual cortex while subjects performed a value-based learning task, and we applied a multivariate inverted encoding model (IEM) to assess the fidelity of distractor representations in early visual cortex. We found that the fidelity of neural representations related to task-irrelevant distractors increased when the distractors were previously associated with a high reward. This finding suggests that value-driven attentional capture begins with sensory modulations of distractor representations in early areas of visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sirawaj Itthipuripat
- Learning Institute, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
- Futuristic Research in Enigmatic Aesthetics Knowledge Laboratory, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Psychology and Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Vy A. Vo
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Thomas C. Sprague
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - John T. Serences
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Department of Psychology and Kavli Foundation for the Brain and Mind, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
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30
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Pettine WW, Steinmetz NA, Moore T. Laminar segregation of sensory coding and behavioral readout in macaque V4. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:14749-14754. [PMID: 31249141 PMCID: PMC6642347 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1819398116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurons in sensory areas of the neocortex are known to represent information both about sensory stimuli and behavioral state, but how these 2 disparate signals are integrated across cortical layers is poorly understood. To study this issue, we measured the coding of visual stimulus orientation and of behavioral state by neurons within superficial and deep layers of area V4 in monkeys while they covertly attended or prepared eye movements to visual stimuli. We show that whereas single neurons and neuronal populations in the superficial layers conveyed more information about the orientation of visual stimuli than neurons in deep layers, the opposite was true of information about the behavioral relevance of those stimuli. In particular, deep layer neurons encoded greater information about the direction of planned eye movements than superficial neurons. These results suggest a division of labor between cortical layers in the coding of visual input and visually guided behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Warren W Pettine
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Nicholas A Steinmetz
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Tirin Moore
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
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31
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Marino AC, Mazer JA. Saccades Trigger Predictive Updating of Attentional Topography in Area V4. Neuron 2019; 98:429-438.e4. [PMID: 29673484 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.03.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Revised: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
During natural behavior, saccades and attention act together to allocate limited neural resources. Attention is generally mediated by retinotopic visual neurons; therefore, specific neurons representing attended features change with each saccade. We investigated the neural mechanisms that allow attentional targeting in the face of saccades. Specifically, we looked for predictive changes in attentional modulation state or receptive field position that could stabilize attentional representations across saccades in area V4, known to be necessary for attention-dependent behavior. We recorded from neurons in monkeys performing a novel spatiotopic attention task, in which performance depended on accurate saccade compensation. Measurements of attentional modulation revealed a predictive attentional "hand-off" corresponding to a presaccadic transfer of attentional state from neurons inside the attentional focus before the saccade to those that will be inside the focus after the saccade. The predictive nature of the hand-off ensures that attentional brain maps are properly configured immediately after each saccade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandria C Marino
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - James A Mazer
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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32
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Banerjee S, Grover S, Ganesh S, Sridharan D. Sensory and decisional components of endogenous attention are dissociable. J Neurophysiol 2019; 122:1538-1554. [PMID: 31268805 PMCID: PMC6843089 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00257.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Endogenous cueing of attention enhances sensory processing of the attended stimulus (perceptual sensitivity) and prioritizes information from the attended location for guiding behavioral decisions (spatial choice bias). Here, we test whether sensitivity and bias effects of endogenous spatial attention are under the control of common or distinct mechanisms. Human observers performed a multialternative visuospatial attention task with probabilistic spatial cues. Observers' behavioral choices were analyzed with a recently developed multidimensional signal detection model (the m-ADC model). The model effectively decoupled the effects of spatial cueing on sensitivity from those on spatial bias and revealed striking dissociations between them. Sensitivity was highest at the cued location and not significantly different among uncued locations, suggesting a spotlight-like allocation of sensory resources at the cued location. On the other hand, bias varied systematically with cue validity, suggesting a graded allocation of decisional priority across locations. Cueing-induced modulations of sensitivity and bias were uncorrelated within and across subjects. Bias, but not sensitivity, correlated with key metrics of prioritized decision-making, including reaction times and decision optimality indices. In addition, we developed a novel metric, differential risk curvature, for distinguishing bias effects of attention from those of signal expectation. Differential risk curvature correlated selectively with m-ADC model estimates of bias but not with estimates of sensitivity. Our results reveal dissociable effects of endogenous attention on perceptual sensitivity and choice bias in a multialternative choice task and motivate the search for the distinct neural correlates of each.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Attention is often studied as a unitary phenomenon. Yet, attention can both enhance the perception of important stimuli (sensitivity) and prioritize such stimuli for decision-making (bias). Employing a multialternative spatial attention task with probabilistic cueing, we show that attention affects sensitivity and bias through dissociable mechanisms. Specifically, the effects on sensitivity alone match the notion of an attentional "spotlight." Our behavioral model enables quantifying component processes of attention, and identifying their respective neural correlates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjna Banerjee
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Shrey Grover
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Suhas Ganesh
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
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33
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Huang Y, Heil P, Brosch M. Associations between sounds and actions in early auditory cortex of nonhuman primates. eLife 2019; 8:43281. [PMID: 30946010 PMCID: PMC6467566 DOI: 10.7554/elife.43281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
An individual may need to take different actions to the same stimulus in different situations to achieve a given goal. The selection of the appropriate action hinges on the previously learned associations between stimuli, actions, and outcomes in the situations. Here, using a go/no-go paradigm and a symmetrical reward, we show that early auditory cortex of nonhuman primates represents such associations, in both the spiking activity and the local field potentials. Sound-evoked neuronal responses changed with sensorimotor associations shortly after sound onset, and the neuronal responses were largest when the sound signaled that a no-go response was required in a trial to obtain a reward. Our findings suggest that association processes take place in the auditory system and do not necessarily rely on association cortex. Thus, auditory cortex may contribute to a rapid selection of the appropriate motor responses to sounds during goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Huang
- Special Lab Primate Neurobiology, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Peter Heil
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany.,Department Systems Physiology of Learning, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Michael Brosch
- Special Lab Primate Neurobiology, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.,Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany
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34
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Garcia-Lazaro HG, Bartsch MV, Boehler CN, Krebs RM, Donohue SE, Harris JA, Schoenfeld MA, Hopf JM. Dissociating Reward- and Attention-driven Biasing of Global Feature-based Selection in Human Visual Cortex. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 31:469-481. [PMID: 30457917 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Objects that promise rewards are prioritized for visual selection. The way this prioritization shapes sensory processing in visual cortex, however, is debated. It has been suggested that rewards motivate stronger attentional focusing, resulting in a modulation of sensory selection in early visual cortex. An open question is whether those reward-driven modulations would be independent of similar modulations indexing the selection of attended features that are not associated with reward. Here, we use magnetoencephalography in human observers to investigate whether the modulations indexing global color-based selection in visual cortex are separable for target- and (monetary) reward-defining colors. To assess the underlying global color-based activity modulation, we compare the event-related magnetic field response elicited by a color probe in the unattended hemifield drawn either in the target color, the reward color, both colors, or a neutral task-irrelevant color. To test whether target and reward relevance trigger separable modulations, we manipulate attention demands on target selection while keeping reward-defining experimental parameters constant. Replicating previous observations, we find that reward and target relevance produce almost indistinguishable gain modulations in ventral extratriate cortex contralateral to the unattended color probe. Importantly, increasing attention demands on target discrimination increases the response to the target-defining color, whereas the response to the rewarded color remains largely unchanged. These observations indicate that, although task relevance and reward influence the very same feature-selective area in extrastriate visual cortex, the associated modulations are largely independent.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jens-Max Hopf
- Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg.,Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg
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35
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Goris RLT, Ziemba CM, Movshon JA, Simoncelli EP. Slow gain fluctuations limit benefits of temporal integration in visual cortex. J Vis 2018; 18:8. [PMID: 30140890 PMCID: PMC6107324 DOI: 10.1167/18.8.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory neurons represent stimulus information with sequences of action potentials that differ across repeated measurements. This variability limits the information that can be extracted from momentary observations of a neuron's response. It is often assumed that integrating responses over time mitigates this limitation. However, temporal response correlations can reduce the benefits of temporal integration. We examined responses of individual orientation-selective neurons in the primary visual cortex of two macaque monkeys performing an orientation-discrimination task. The signal-to-noise ratio of temporally integrated responses increased for durations up to a few hundred milliseconds but saturated for longer durations. This was true even when cells exhibited little or no adaptation in their response levels. These observations are well explained by a statistical response model in which spikes arise from a Poisson process whose stimulus-dependent rate is modulated by slow, stimulus-independent fluctuations in gain. The response variability arising from the Poisson process is reduced by temporal integration, but the slow modulatory nature of variability due to gain fluctuations is not. Slow gain fluctuations therefore impose a fundamental limit on the benefits of temporal integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robbe L T Goris
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Present address: Center for Perceptual Systems, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Corey M Ziemba
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Present address: Center for Perceptual Systems, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | | | - Eero P Simoncelli
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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36
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Lindsay GW, Miller KD. How biological attention mechanisms improve task performance in a large-scale visual system model. eLife 2018; 7:e38105. [PMID: 30272560 PMCID: PMC6207429 DOI: 10.7554/elife.38105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
How does attentional modulation of neural activity enhance performance? Here we use a deep convolutional neural network as a large-scale model of the visual system to address this question. We model the feature similarity gain model of attention, in which attentional modulation is applied according to neural stimulus tuning. Using a variety of visual tasks, we show that neural modulations of the kind and magnitude observed experimentally lead to performance changes of the kind and magnitude observed experimentally. We find that, at earlier layers, attention applied according to tuning does not successfully propagate through the network, and has a weaker impact on performance than attention applied according to values computed for optimally modulating higher areas. This raises the question of whether biological attention might be applied at least in part to optimize function rather than strictly according to tuning. We suggest a simple experiment to distinguish these alternatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace W Lindsay
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, College of Physicians and SurgeonsColumbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behaviour InstituteColumbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Kenneth D Miller
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, College of Physicians and SurgeonsColumbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behaviour InstituteColumbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- Swartz Program in Theoretical NeuroscienceKavli Institute for Brain ScienceNew YorkUnited States
- Department of NeuroscienceColumbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
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37
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Differentiating between Models of Perceptual Decision Making Using Pupil Size Inferred Confidence. J Neurosci 2018; 38:8874-8888. [PMID: 30171092 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0735-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Revised: 06/22/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
During perceptual decisions, subjects often rely more strongly on early, rather than late, sensory evidence, even in tasks when both are equally informative about the correct decision. This early psychophysical weighting has been explained by an integration-to-bound decision process, in which the stimulus is ignored after the accumulated evidence reaches a certain bound, or confidence level. Here, we derive predictions about how the average temporal weighting of the evidence depends on a subject's decision confidence in this model. To test these predictions empirically, we devised a method to infer decision confidence from pupil size in 2 male monkeys performing a disparity discrimination task. Our animals' data confirmed the integration-to-bound predictions, with different internal decision bounds and different levels of correlation between pupil size and decision confidence accounting for differences between animals. However, the data were less compatible with two alternative accounts for early psychophysical weighting: attractor dynamics either within the decision area or due to feedback to sensory areas, or a feedforward account due to neuronal response adaptation. This approach also opens the door to using confidence more broadly when studying the neural basis of decision making.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT An animal's ability to adjust decisions based on its level of confidence, sometimes referred to as "metacognition," has generated substantial interest in neuroscience. Here, we show how measurements of pupil diameter in macaques can be used to infer their confidence. This technique opens the door to more neurophysiological studies of confidence because it eliminates the need for training on behavioral paradigms to evaluate confidence. We then use this technique to test predictions from competing explanations of why subjects in perceptual decision making often rely more strongly on early evidence: the way in which the strength of this effect should depend on a subject's decision confidence. We find that a bounded decision formation process best explains our empirical data.
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38
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Huda R, Goard MJ, Pho GN, Sur M. Neural mechanisms of sensorimotor transformation and action selection. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 49:1055-1060. [PMID: 30019473 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Revised: 06/22/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Ray Guillery made major contributions to our understanding of the development and function of the brain. One of his principal conceptual insights, developed together with Murray Sherman [S.M. Sherman & R.W. Guillery (2001) Exploring the Thalamus. Elsevier, Amstrerdam; S. Sherman & R. Guillery (2006) Exploring the Thalamus and Its Role in Cortical Functioning. Academic Press, New York, NY; S.M. Sherman & R.W. Guillery (2013) Functional Connections of Cortical Areas: A New View from the Thalamus. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA and then in his last book (R. Guillery (2017) The Brain as a Tool: A Neuroscientist's Account. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK)], was that the brain is a 'tool' to understand the world. In this view, the brain does not passively process sensory information and use the result to inform motor outputs. Rather, sensory and motor signals are widely broadcast and inextricably linked, with ongoing sensorimotor transformations serving as the basis for interaction with the outside world. Here, we describe recent studies from our laboratory and others which demonstrate this astute framing of the link among sensation, perception, and action postulated by Guillery and others [G. Deco & E.T. Rolls (2005) Prog Neurobiol, 76, 236-256; P. Cisek & J.F. Kalaska (2010) Annu Rev Neurosci, 33, 269-298]. Guillery situated his understanding in the deeply intertwined relationship between the thalamus and cortex, and importantly in the feedback from cortex to thalamus which in turn influences feed-forward drive to cortex [S.M. Sherman & R.W. Guillery (2001) Exploring the Thalamus. Elsevier, Amstrerdam; S. Sherman & R. Guillery (2006) Exploring the Thalamus and Its Role in Cortical Functioning. Academic Press, New York, NY]. We extend these observations to argue that brain mechanisms for sensorimotor transformations involve cortical and subcortical circuits that create internal models as a substrate for action, that a key role of sensory inputs is to update such models, and that a major function of sensorimotor processing underlying cognition is to enable action selection and execution.
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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, USA
| | - Michael J Goard
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.,Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Gerald N Pho
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mriganka Sur
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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39
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Schwartz ZP, David SV. Focal Suppression of Distractor Sounds by Selective Attention in Auditory Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2018; 28:323-339. [PMID: 29136104 PMCID: PMC6057511 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory selective attention is required for parsing crowded acoustic environments, but cortical systems mediating the influence of behavioral state on auditory perception are not well characterized. Previous neurophysiological studies suggest that attention produces a general enhancement of neural responses to important target sounds versus irrelevant distractors. However, behavioral studies suggest that in the presence of masking noise, attention provides a focal suppression of distractors that compete with targets. Here, we compared effects of attention on cortical responses to masking versus non-masking distractors, controlling for effects of listening effort and general task engagement. We recorded single-unit activity from primary auditory cortex (A1) of ferrets during behavior and found that selective attention decreased responses to distractors masking targets in the same spectral band, compared with spectrally distinct distractors. This suppression enhanced neural target detection thresholds, suggesting that limited attention resources serve to focally suppress responses to distractors that interfere with target detection. Changing effort by manipulating target salience consistently modulated spontaneous but not evoked activity. Task engagement and changing effort tended to affect the same neurons, while attention affected an independent population, suggesting that distinct feedback circuits mediate effects of attention and effort in A1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary P Schwartz
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Oregon Health and Science University, OR, USA
| | - Stephen V David
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, OR, USA
- Address Correspondence to Stephen V. David, Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, MC L335A, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
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40
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David SV. Incorporating behavioral and sensory context into spectro-temporal models of auditory encoding. Hear Res 2018; 360:107-123. [PMID: 29331232 PMCID: PMC6292525 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2017.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
For several decades, auditory neuroscientists have used spectro-temporal encoding models to understand how neurons in the auditory system represent sound. Derived from early applications of systems identification tools to the auditory periphery, the spectro-temporal receptive field (STRF) and more sophisticated variants have emerged as an efficient means of characterizing representation throughout the auditory system. Most of these encoding models describe neurons as static sensory filters. However, auditory neural coding is not static. Sensory context, reflecting the acoustic environment, and behavioral context, reflecting the internal state of the listener, can both influence sound-evoked activity, particularly in central auditory areas. This review explores recent efforts to integrate context into spectro-temporal encoding models. It begins with a brief tutorial on the basics of estimating and interpreting STRFs. Then it describes three recent studies that have characterized contextual effects on STRFs, emerging over a range of timescales, from many minutes to tens of milliseconds. An important theme of this work is not simply that context influences auditory coding, but also that contextual effects span a large continuum of internal states. The added complexity of these context-dependent models introduces new experimental and theoretical challenges that must be addressed in order to be used effectively. Several new methodological advances promise to address these limitations and allow the development of more comprehensive context-dependent models in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen V David
- Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, MC L335A, Portland, OR 97239, United States.
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41
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Kaskan PM, Costa VD, Eaton HP, Zemskova JA, Mitz AR, Leopold DA, Ungerleider LG, Murray EA. Learned Value Shapes Responses to Objects in Frontal and Ventral Stream Networks in Macaque Monkeys. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:2739-2757. [PMID: 27166166 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We have an incomplete picture of how the brain links object representations to reward value, and how this information is stored and later retrieved. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), medial frontal cortex (MFC), and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), together with the amygdala, are thought to play key roles in these processes. There is an apparent discrepancy, however, regarding frontal areas thought to encode value in macaque monkeys versus humans. To address this issue, we used fMRI in macaque monkeys to localize brain areas encoding recently learned image values. Each week, monkeys learned to associate images of novel objects with a high or low probability of water reward. Areas responding to the value of recently learned reward-predictive images included MFC area 10 m/32, VLPFC area 12, and inferior temporal visual cortex (IT). The amygdala and OFC, each thought to be involved in value encoding, showed little such effect. Instead, these 2 areas primarily responded to visual stimulation and reward receipt, respectively. Strong image value encoding in monkey MFC compared with OFC is surprising, but agrees with results from human imaging studies. Our findings demonstrate the importance of VLPFC, MFC, and IT in representing the values of recently learned visual images.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Kaskan
- Section on Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology
| | - Vincent D Costa
- Unit on Learning and Decision Making, Laboratory of Neuropsychology
| | - Hana P Eaton
- Section on Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology
| | - Julie A Zemskova
- Section on Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology
| | | | - David A Leopold
- Section on Cognitive Neurophysiology and Imaging, Laboratory of Neuropsychology and
| | - Leslie G Ungerleider
- Section on Neurocircuitry, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Elisabeth A Murray
- Section on Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology
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42
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Graded Neuronal Modulations Related to Visual Spatial Attention. J Neurosci 2017; 36:5353-61. [PMID: 27170131 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0192-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 04/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Studies of visual attention in monkeys typically measure neuronal activity when the stimulus event to be detected occurs at a cued location versus when it occurs at an uncued location. But this approach does not address how neuronal activity changes relative to conditions where attention is unconstrained by cueing. Human psychophysical studies have used neutral cueing conditions and found that neutrally cued behavioral performance is generally intermediate to that of cued and uncued conditions (Posner et al., 1978; Mangun and Hillyard, 1990; Montagna et al., 2009). To determine whether the neuronal correlates of visual attention during neutral cueing are similarly intermediate, we trained macaque monkeys to detect changes in stimulus orientation that were more likely to occur at one location (cued) than another (uncued), or were equally likely to occur at either stimulus location (neutral). Consistent with human studies, performance was best when the location was cued, intermediate when both locations were neutrally cued, and worst when the location was uncued. Neuronal modulations in visual area V4 were also graded as a function of cue validity and behavioral performance. By recording from both hemispheres simultaneously, we investigated the possibility of switching attention between stimulus locations during neutral cueing. The results failed to support a unitary "spotlight" of attention. Overall, our findings indicate that attention-related changes in V4 are graded to accommodate task demands. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Studies of the neuronal correlates of attention in monkeys typically use visual cues to manipulate where attention is focused ("cued" vs "uncued"). Human psychophysical studies often also include neutrally cued trials to study how attention naturally varies between points of interest. But the neuronal correlates of this neutral condition are unclear. We measured behavioral performance and neuronal activity in cued, uncued, and neutrally cued blocks of trials. Behavioral performance and neuronal responses during neutral cueing were intermediate to those of the cued and uncued conditions. We found no signatures of a single mechanism of attention that switches between stimulus locations. Thus, attention-related changes in neuronal activity are largely hemisphere-specific and graded according to task demands.
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43
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Itthipuripat S, Cha K, Byers A, Serences JT. Two different mechanisms support selective attention at different phases of training. PLoS Biol 2017; 15:e2001724. [PMID: 28654635 PMCID: PMC5486967 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2001724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Selective attention supports the prioritized processing of relevant sensory information to facilitate goal-directed behavior. Studies in human subjects demonstrate that attentional gain of cortical responses can sufficiently account for attention-related improvements in behavior. On the other hand, studies using highly trained nonhuman primates suggest that reductions in neural noise can better explain attentional facilitation of behavior. Given the importance of selective information processing in nearly all domains of cognition, we sought to reconcile these competing accounts by testing the hypothesis that extensive behavioral training alters the neural mechanisms that support selective attention. We tested this hypothesis using electroencephalography (EEG) to measure stimulus-evoked visual responses from human subjects while they performed a selective spatial attention task over the course of ~1 month. Early in training, spatial attention led to an increase in the gain of stimulus-evoked visual responses. Gain was apparent within ~100 ms of stimulus onset, and a quantitative model based on signal detection theory (SDT) successfully linked the magnitude of this gain modulation to attention-related improvements in behavior. However, after extensive training, this early attentional gain was eliminated even though there were still substantial attention-related improvements in behavior. Accordingly, the SDT-based model required noise reduction to account for the link between the stimulus-evoked visual responses and attentional modulations of behavior. These findings suggest that training can lead to fundamental changes in the way attention alters the early cortical responses that support selective information processing. Moreover, these data facilitate the translation of results across different species and across experimental procedures that employ different behavioral training regimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sirawaj Itthipuripat
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Kexin Cha
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Anna Byers
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - John T. Serences
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
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44
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Truong G, Todd RM. SOAP Opera: Self as Object and Agent in Prioritizing Attention. J Cogn Neurosci 2017; 29:937-952. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that multiple sources of salience tune attentional sets toward aspects of the environment, including affectively and motivationally significant categories of stimuli such as angry faces and reward-associated target locations. Recent evidence further indicates that objects that have gained personal significance through ownership can elicit similar attentional prioritization. Here we discuss current research on sources of attentional prioritization that shape our awareness of the visual world from moment to moment and the underlying neural systems and contextualize what is known about attentional prioritization of our possessions within that research. We review behavioral and neuroimaging research on the influence of self-relevance and ownership on cognition and discuss challenges to this literature stemming from different modes of conceptualizing and operationalizing the self. We argue that ownership taps into both “self-as-object,” which characterizes the self as an object with a constellation of traits and attributes, and “self-as-subject,” which characterizes the self as an agentic perceiver and knower. Despite an abundance of research probing neural and behavioral indices of self-as-object and its effects on attention, there exists a paucity of research on the influence of self-relevance of attention when self is operationalized from the perspective of a first-person subject. To begin to address this gap, we propose the Self as Ownership in Attentional Prioritization (SOAP) framework to explain how ownership increases salience through attention to external representations of self-identity (i.e., self as object) and attention to contextually mediated permission to act (i.e., self as subject).
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45
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Verhoef BE, Maunsell JHR. Attention-related changes in correlated neuronal activity arise from normalization mechanisms. Nat Neurosci 2017; 20:969-977. [PMID: 28553943 PMCID: PMC5507208 DOI: 10.1038/nn.4572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Attention is believed to enhance perception by altering the correlations
between pairs of neurons. How attention changes neuronal correlations is
unknown. Using multi-electrodes in primate visual cortex, we measured
spike-count correlations when single or multiple stimuli were presented, and
stimuli were attended or unattended. When stimuli were unattended, adding a
suppressive, non-preferred, stimulus beside a preferred stimulus
increased spike-count correlations between pairs of
similarly-tuned neurons, but decreased
spike-count correlations between pairs of oppositely-tuned
neurons. These changes are explained by a stochastic normalization model
containing populations of oppositely-tuned, mutually-suppressive neurons.
Importantly, this model also explains why attention decreased
(attend preferred stimulus) or increased (attend non-preferred
stimulus) correlations: as an indirect consequence of attention-related changes
in the inputs to normalization mechanisms. Our findings link normalization
mechanisms to correlated neuronal activity and attention, showing that
normalization mechanisms shape response correlations and that these correlations
change when attention biases normalization mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bram-Ernst Verhoef
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Laboratorium voor Neuro- en Psychofysiologie, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - John H R Maunsell
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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46
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Abstract
Selective visual attention describes the tendency of visual processing to be confined largely to stimuli that are relevant to behavior. It is among the most fundamental of cognitive functions, particularly in humans and other primates for whom vision is the dominant sense. We review recent progress in identifying the neural mechanisms of selective visual attention. We discuss evidence from studies of different varieties of selective attention and examine how these varieties alter the processing of stimuli by neurons within the visual system, current knowledge of their causal basis, and methods for assessing attentional dysfunctions. In addition, we identify some key questions that remain in identifying the neural mechanisms that give rise to the selective processing of visual information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tirin Moore
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305; , .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford, California 94305
| | - Marc Zirnsak
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305; , .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford, California 94305
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47
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Affiliation(s)
- Wu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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48
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Abstract
Neurons in early visual cortical areas not only represent incoming visual information but are also engaged by higher level cognitive processes, including attention, working memory, imagery, and decision-making. Are these cognitive effects an epiphenomenon or are they functionally relevant for these mental operations? We review evidence supporting the hypothesis that the modulation of activity in early visual areas has a causal role in cognition. The modulatory influences allow the early visual cortex to act as a multiscale cognitive blackboard for read and write operations by higher visual areas, which can thereby efficiently exchange information. This blackboard architecture explains how the activity of neurons in the early visual cortex contributes to scene segmentation and working memory, and relates to the subject's inferences about the visual world. The architecture also has distinct advantages for the processing of visual routines that rely on a number of sequentially executed processing steps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pieter R Roelfsema
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; .,Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, VU University Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Psychiatry Department, Academic Medical Center, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Floris P de Lange
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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49
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Bourgeois A, Chelazzi L, Vuilleumier P. How motivation and reward learning modulate selective attention. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2016; 229:325-342. [PMID: 27926446 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2016.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Motivational stimuli such as rewards elicit adaptive responses and influence various cognitive functions. Notably, increasing evidence suggests that stimuli with particular motivational values can strongly shape perception and attention. These effects resemble both selective top-down and stimulus-driven attentional orienting, as they depend on internal states but arise without conscious will, yet they seem to reflect attentional systems that are functionally and anatomically distinct from those classically associated with frontoparietal cortical networks in the brain. Recent research in human and nonhuman primates has begun to reveal how reward can bias attentional selection, and where within the cognitive system the signals providing attentional priority are generated. This review aims at describing the different mechanisms sustaining motivational attention, their impact on different behavioral tasks, and current knowledge concerning the neural networks governing the integration of motivational influences on attentional behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Bourgeois
- Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - L Chelazzi
- University of Verona, Verona, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, Verona, Italy
| | - P Vuilleumier
- Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Arandia-Romero I, Tanabe S, Drugowitsch J, Kohn A, Moreno-Bote R. Multiplicative and Additive Modulation of Neuronal Tuning with Population Activity Affects Encoded Information. Neuron 2016; 89:1305-1316. [PMID: 26924437 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2016.01.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Revised: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 01/16/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Numerous studies have shown that neuronal responses are modulated by stimulus properties and also by the state of the local network. However, little is known about how activity fluctuations of neuronal populations modulate the sensory tuning of cells and affect their encoded information. We found that fluctuations in ongoing and stimulus-evoked population activity in primate visual cortex modulate the tuning of neurons in a multiplicative and additive manner. While distributed on a continuum, neurons with stronger multiplicative effects tended to have less additive modulation and vice versa. The information encoded by multiplicatively modulated neurons increased with greater population activity, while that of additively modulated neurons decreased. These effects offset each other so that population activity had little effect on total information. Our results thus suggest that intrinsic activity fluctuations may act as a "traffic light" that determines which subset of neurons is most informative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iñigo Arandia-Romero
- Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08018, Spain; Research Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona 08950, Spain
| | - Seiji Tanabe
- Dominick Purpura Department of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Jan Drugowitsch
- Département des Neurosciences Fondamentales, Université de Genève, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Adam Kohn
- Dominick Purpura Department of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Rubén Moreno-Bote
- Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08018, Spain; Research Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona 08950, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona 08950, Spain; Serra Húnter Fellow Programme, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08018, Spain.
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