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Khalaf A, Lopez E, Li J, Horn A, Edlow BL, Blumenfeld H. Shared subcortical arousal systems across sensory modalities during transient modulation of attention. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.09.16.613316. [PMID: 39345640 PMCID: PMC11429725 DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.16.613316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/01/2024]
Abstract
Subcortical arousal systems are known to play a key role in controlling sustained changes in attention and conscious awareness. Recent studies indicate that these systems have a major influence on short-term dynamic modulation of visual attention, but their role across sensory modalities is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated shared subcortical arousal systems across sensory modalities during transient changes in attention using block and event-related fMRI paradigms. We analyzed massive publicly available fMRI datasets collected while 1,561 participants performed visual, auditory, tactile, and taste perception tasks. Our analyses revealed a shared circuit of subcortical arousal systems exhibiting early transient increases in activity in midbrain reticular formation and central thalamus across perceptual modalities, as well as less consistent increases in pons, hypothalamus, basal forebrain, and basal ganglia. Identifying these networks is critical for understanding mechanisms of normal attention and consciousness and may help facilitate subcortical targeting for therapeutic neuromodulation.
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Xia R, Chen X, Engel TA, Moore T. Common and distinct neural mechanisms of attention. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:554-567. [PMID: 38388258 PMCID: PMC11153008 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Despite a constant deluge of sensory stimulation, only a fraction of it is used to guide behavior. This selective processing is generally referred to as attention, and much research has focused on the neural mechanisms controlling it. Recently, research has broadened to include more ways by which different species selectively process sensory information, whether due to the sensory input itself or to different behavioral and brain states. This work has produced a complex and disjointed body of evidence across different species and forms of attention. However, it has also provided opportunities to better understand the breadth of attentional mechanisms. Here, we summarize the evidence that suggests that different forms of selective processing are supported by mechanisms both common and distinct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruobing Xia
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Xiaomo Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Tatiana A Engel
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Tirin Moore
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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3
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Hanning NM, Himmelberg MM, Carrasco M. Presaccadic Attention Depends on Eye Movement Direction and Is Related to V1 Cortical Magnification. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1023232023. [PMID: 38316562 PMCID: PMC10957215 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1023-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
With every saccadic eye movement, humans bring new information into their fovea to be processed with high visual acuity. Notably, perception is enhanced already before a relevant item is foveated: During saccade preparation, presaccadic attention shifts to the upcoming fixation location, which can be measured via behavioral correlates such as enhanced visual performance or modulations of sensory feature tuning. The coupling between saccadic eye movements and attention is assumed to be robust and mandatory and considered a mechanism facilitating the integration of pre- and postsaccadic information. However, until recently it had not been investigated as a function of saccade direction. Here, we measured contrast response functions during fixation and saccade preparation in male and female observers and found that the pronounced response gain benefit typically elicited by presaccadic attention is selectively lacking before upward saccades at the group level-some observers even showed a cost. Individual observer's sensitivity before upward saccades was negatively related to their amount of surface area in primary visual cortex representing the saccade target, suggesting a potential compensatory mechanism that optimizes the use of the limited neural resources processing the upper vertical meridian. Our results raise the question of how perceptual continuity is achieved and how upward saccades can be accurately targeted despite the lack of-theoretically required-presaccadic attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Hanning
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin 12489, Germany
| | - Marc M Himmelberg
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
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4
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Fan Y, Doi T, Gold JI, Ding L. Neural Representations of Post-Decision Accuracy and Reward Expectation in the Caudate Nucleus and Frontal Eye Field. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e0902232023. [PMID: 37963761 PMCID: PMC10860634 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0902-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Performance monitoring that supports ongoing behavioral adjustments is often examined in the context of either choice confidence for perceptual decisions (i.e., "did I get it right?") or reward expectation for reward-based decisions (i.e., "what reward will I receive?"). However, our understanding of how the brain encodes these distinct evaluative signals remains limited because they are easily conflated, particularly in commonly used two-alternative tasks with symmetric rewards for correct choices. Previously we used a motion-discrimination task with asymmetric rewards to identify neural substrates of forming reward-biased perceptual decisions in the caudate nucleus (part of the striatum in the basal ganglia) and the frontal eye field (FEF, in prefrontal cortex). Here we leveraged this task design to partially decouple estimates of accuracy and reward expectation and examine their impacts on subsequent decisions and their representations in those two brain areas. We identified distinguishable representations of these two evaluative signals in individual caudate and FEF neurons, with regional differences in their distribution patterns and time courses. We observed that well-trained monkeys (both sexes) used both evaluative signals, infrequently but consistently, to adjust their subsequent decisions. We found further that these behavioral adjustments had reliable relationships with the neural representations of both evaluative signals in caudate, but not FEF. These results suggest that the cortico-striatal decision network may use diverse evaluative signals to monitor and adjust decision-making behaviors, adding to our understanding of the different roles that the FEF and caudate nucleus play in a diversity of decision-related computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunshu Fan
- Neuroscience Graduate Group, Departments of Neuroscience
| | - Takahiro Doi
- Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Joshua I Gold
- Neuroscience Graduate Group, Departments of Neuroscience
| | - Long Ding
- Neuroscience Graduate Group, Departments of Neuroscience
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5
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Liu X, Li Y, Xu L, Zhang T, Cui H, Wei Y, Xia M, Su W, Tang Y, Tang X, Zhang D, Spillmann L, Max Andolina I, McLoughlin N, Wang W, Wang J. Spatial and Temporal Abnormalities of Spontaneous Fixational Saccades and Their Correlates With Positive and Cognitive Symptoms in Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2024; 50:78-88. [PMID: 37066730 PMCID: PMC10754167 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbad039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Visual fixation is a dynamic process, with the spontaneous occurrence of microsaccades and macrosaccades. These fixational saccades are sensitive to the structural and functional alterations of the cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuit. Given that dysfunctional cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuit contributes to cognitive and behavioral impairments in schizophrenia, we hypothesized that patients with schizophrenia would exhibit abnormal fixational saccades and these abnormalities would be associated with the clinical manifestations. STUDY DESIGN Saccades were recorded from 140 drug-naïve patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 160 age-matched healthy controls during ten separate trials of 6-second steady fixations. Positive and negative symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Cognition was assessed using the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). STUDY RESULTS Patients with schizophrenia exhibited fixational saccades more vertically than controls, which was reflected in more vertical saccades with angles around 90° and a greater vertical shift of horizontal saccades with angles around 0° in patients. The fixational saccades, especially horizontal saccades, showed longer durations, faster peak velocities, and larger amplitudes in patients. Furthermore, the greater vertical shift of horizontal saccades was associated with higher PANSS total and positive symptom scores in patients, and the longer duration of horizontal saccades was associated with lower MCCB neurocognitive composite, attention/vigilance, and speed of processing scores. Finally, based solely on these fixational eye movements, a K-nearest neighbors model classified patients with an accuracy of 85%. Conclusions: Our results reveal spatial and temporal abnormalities of fixational saccades and suggest fixational saccades as a promising biomarker for cognitive and positive symptoms and for diagnosis of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Lihua Xu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Tianhong Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Huiru Cui
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yanyan Wei
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Mengqing Xia
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenjun Su
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yingying Tang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaochen Tang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Dan Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Lothar Spillmann
- Department of Neurology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ian Max Andolina
- Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Center for Brain and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Niall McLoughlin
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
| | - Wei Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Center for Brain and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jijun Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
- Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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6
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Hanning NM, Fernández A, Carrasco M. Dissociable roles of human frontal eye fields and early visual cortex in presaccadic attention. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5381. [PMID: 37666805 PMCID: PMC10477327 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40678-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Shortly before saccadic eye movements, visual sensitivity at the saccade target is enhanced, at the expense of sensitivity elsewhere. Some behavioral and neural correlates of this presaccadic shift of attention resemble those of covert attention, deployed during fixation. Microstimulation in non-human primates has shown that presaccadic attention modulates perception via feedback from oculomotor to visual areas. This mechanism also seems plausible in humans, as both oculomotor and visual areas are active during saccade planning. We investigated this hypothesis by applying TMS to frontal or visual areas during saccade preparation. By simultaneously measuring perceptual performance, we show their causal and differential roles in contralateral presaccadic attention effects: Whereas rFEF+ stimulation enhanced sensitivity opposite the saccade target throughout saccade preparation, V1/V2 stimulation reduced sensitivity at the saccade target only shortly before saccade onset. These findings are consistent with presaccadic attention modulating perception through cortico-cortical feedback and further dissociate presaccadic and covert attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Hanning
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
- Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Antonio Fernández
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology & Center for Neural Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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7
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Stine GM, Trautmann EM, Jeurissen D, Shadlen MN. A neural mechanism for terminating decisions. Neuron 2023; 111:2601-2613.e5. [PMID: 37352857 PMCID: PMC10565788 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
The brain makes decisions by accumulating evidence until there is enough to stop and choose. Neural mechanisms of evidence accumulation are established in association cortex, but the site and mechanism of termination are unknown. Here, we show that the superior colliculus (SC) plays a causal role in terminating decisions, and we provide evidence for a mechanism by which this occurs. We recorded simultaneously from neurons in the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) and SC while monkeys made perceptual decisions. Despite similar trial-averaged activity, we found distinct single-trial dynamics in the two areas: LIP displayed drift-diffusion dynamics and SC displayed bursting dynamics. We hypothesized that the bursts manifest a threshold mechanism applied to signals represented in LIP to terminate the decision. Consistent with this hypothesis, SC inactivation produced behavioral effects diagnostic of an impaired threshold sensor and prolonged the buildup of activity in LIP. The results reveal the transformation from deliberation to commitment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel M Stine
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Eric M Trautmann
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Grossman Center for the Statistics of Mind, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Danique Jeurissen
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Michael N Shadlen
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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8
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Schenke N, Diestel E, Kastrup A, Eling P, Hildebrandt H. Monocular eye patching modulates reorienting of covert attention in patients with unilateral middle cerebral artery stroke. Brain Cogn 2023; 169:106000. [PMID: 37253302 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2023.106000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Unilateral brain lesions can lead to impaired contralesional attention and reduced ipsilesional and enhanced contralesional superior colliculus (SC) activity. We aimed to investigate whether modulation of SC activation via monocular eye patching can improve contralesional attention. Twenty left-hemispheric (LH) and 20 right-hemispheric (RH) patients with an acute or subacute middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke completed an endogenous version of the Posner cueing task twice, while the left or right eye was covered with an eye patch. The LH and RH patients showed significantly slower reactions to contralesional than to ipsilesional stimuli. In addition, the eye patch modulated responses to invalidly but not those to validly cued stimuli. Post hoc analyses could not discriminate whether this effect pertained to a particular target side or eye patch position. However, exploratory analyses indicated that the observed eye patch effect might affect the RH group more than the LH group. As predicted 36 years ago, monocular eye patching modulates visuospatial attention, presumably due to differences in SC activation between the two eye patch conditions. However, this modulation seems too weak and unspecific, and therefore possibly not strong enough to be a treatment option for patients with visuospatial attention impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Schenke
- Department of Psychology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, Klinikum Bremen-Ost, Bremen, Germany.
| | - Elfriede Diestel
- Department for Education and Human Development, Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Andreas Kastrup
- Department of Neurology, Klinikum Bremen-Mitte, Bremen, Germany
| | - Paul Eling
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Helmut Hildebrandt
- Department of Psychology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, Klinikum Bremen-Ost, Bremen, Germany
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9
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Hanning NM, Fernández A, Carrasco M. Dissociable roles of human frontal eye fields and early visual cortex in presaccadic attention - evidence from TMS. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.23.529691. [PMID: 36865228 PMCID: PMC9980111 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.23.529691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
Shortly before each saccadic eye movement, presaccadic attention improves visual sensitivity at the saccade target 1-5 at the expense of lowered sensitivity at non-target locations 6-11 . Some behavioral and neural correlates of presaccadic attention and covert attention -which likewise enhances sensitivity, but during fixation 12 -are similar 13 . This resemblance has led to the debatable 13-18 notion that presaccadic and covert attention are functionally equivalent and rely on the same neural circuitry 19-21 . At a broad scale, oculomotor brain structures (e.g., FEF) are also modulated during covert attention 22-24 - yet by distinct neuronal subpopulations 25-28 . Perceptual benefits of presaccadic attention rely on feedback from oculomotor structures to visual cortices 29,30 ( Fig. 1a ); micro-stimulation of FEF in non-human primates affects activity in visual cortex 31-34 and enhances visual sensitivity at the movement field of the stimulated neurons 35-37 . Similar feedback projections seem to exist in humans: FEF+ activation precedes occipital activation during saccade preparation 38,39 and FEF TMS modulates activity in visual cortex 40-42 and enhances perceived contrast in the contralateral hemifield 40 . We investigated presaccadic feedback in humans by applying TMS to frontal or visual areas during saccade preparation. By simultaneously measuring perceptual performance, we show the causal and differential roles of these brain regions in contralateral presaccadic benefits at the saccade target and costs at non-targets: Whereas rFEF+ stimulation reduced presaccadic costs throughout saccade preparation, V1/V2 stimulation reduced benefits only shortly before saccade onset. These effects provide causal evidence that presaccadic attention modulates perception through cortico-cortical feedback and further dissociate presaccadic and covert attention.
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10
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Srinivasan K, Lowet E, Gomes B, Desimone R. Stimulus representations in visual cortex shaped by spatial attention and microsaccades. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.25.529300. [PMID: 36909549 PMCID: PMC10002663 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.25.529300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
Microsaccades (MSs) are commonly associated with spatially directed attention, but how they affect visual processing is still not clear. We studied MSs in a task in which the animal was randomly cued to attend to a target stimulus and ignore distractors, and it was rewarded for detecting a color change in the target. We found that the enhancement of firing rates normally found with attention to a cued stimulus was delayed until the first MS directed towards that stimulus. Once that MS occurred, attention to the target was engaged and there were persistent effects of attention on firing rates for the remainder of the trial. These effects were found in the superficial and deep layers of V4 as well as the lateral pulvinar and IT cortex. Although the tuning curves of V4 cells do not change depending on the locus of spatial attention, we found pronounced effects of MS direction on stimulus representations that persisted for the length of the trial in V4. In intervals following a MS towards the target in the RF, stimulus decoding from population activity was substantially better than in intervals following a MS away from the target. Likewise, turning curves of cells were substantially sharper following a MS towards the target in the RF. This sharpening appeared to result from both a "refreshing" of the initial transient sensory response to stimulus onset, and a magnification of the effects of attention in this condition. MSs to the target also enhanced the neuronal response to the behaviorally relevant target color change and led to faster reaction times. These results thus reveal a major link between spatial attention, object processing and its coordination with eye movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karthik Srinivasan
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Eric Lowet
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Bruno Gomes
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém-Pa, Brazil
| | - Robert Desimone
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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11
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Khalaf A, Kronemer SI, Christison-Lagay K, Kwon H, Li J, Wu K, Blumenfeld H. Early neural activity changes associated with stimulus detection during visual conscious perception. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:1347-1360. [PMID: 35446937 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The earliest cortical neural signals following consciously perceived visual stimuli in humans are poorly understood. Using intracranial electroencephalography, we investigated neural activity changes associated with the earliest stages of stimulus detection during visual conscious perception. Participants (N = 10; 1,693 electrode contacts) completed a continuous performance task where subjects were asked to press a button when they saw a target letter among a series of nontargets. Broadband gamma power (40-115 Hz) was analyzed as marker of cortical population neural activity. Regardless of target or nontarget letter type, we observed early gamma power changes within 30-180 ms from stimulus onset in a network including increases in bilateral occipital, fusiform, frontal (including frontal eye fields), and medial temporal cortex; increases in left lateral parietal-temporal cortex; and decreases in the right anterior medial occipital cortex. No significant differences were observed between target and nontarget stimuli until >180 ms post-stimulus, when we saw greater gamma power increases in left motor and premotor areas, suggesting a possible role in perceptual decision-making and/or motor responses with the right hand. The early gamma power findings support a broadly distributed cortical visual detection network that is engaged at early times tens of milliseconds after signal transduction from the retina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aya Khalaf
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States.,Biomedical Engineering and Systems, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
| | - Sharif I Kronemer
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States.,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States
| | - Kate Christison-Lagay
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States
| | - Hunki Kwon
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States
| | - Jiajia Li
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States.,School of Information & Control Engineering, Xian University of Architecture & Technology, Xi'an 710055, China
| | - Kun Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States
| | - Hal Blumenfeld
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States.,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States.,Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, United States
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12
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Abstract
Consciousness is a fascinating field of neuroscience research where questions often outnumber the answers. We advocate an open and optimistic approach where converging mechanisms in neuroscience may eventually provide a satisfactory understanding of consciousness. We first review several characteristics of conscious neural activity, including the involvement of dedicated systems for content and levels of consciousness, the distinction and overlap of mechanisms contributing to conscious states and conscious awareness of transient events, nonlinear transitions and involvement of large-scale networks, and finally the temporal nexus where conscious awareness of discrete events occurs when mechanisms of attention and memory meet. These considerations and recent new experimental findings lead us to propose an inclusive hypothesis involving four phases initiated shortly after an external sensory stimulus: (1) Detect-primary and higher cortical and subcortical circuits detect the stimulus and select it for conscious perception. (2) Pulse-a transient and massive neuromodulatory surge in subcortical-cortical arousal and salience networks amplifies signals enabling conscious perception to proceed. (3) Switch-networks that may interfere with conscious processing are switched off. (4) Wave-sequential processing through hierarchical lower to higher cortical regions produces a fully formed percept, encoded in frontoparietal working memory and medial temporal episodic memory systems for subsequent report of experience. The framework hypothesized here is intended to be nonexclusive and encourages the addition of other mechanisms with further progress. Ultimately, just as many mechanisms in biology together distinguish living from nonliving things, many mechanisms in neuroscience synergistically may separate conscious from nonconscious neural activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hal Blumenfeld
- Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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13
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Ouerfelli-Ethier J, Comtois Bona I, Fournet R, Pisella L, Khan AZ. Pre-saccadic attention relies more on suppression than does covert attention. J Vis 2023; 23:1. [PMID: 36595283 PMCID: PMC9819743 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
During covert and pre-saccadic attentional shifts, it is unclear how facilitation and suppression processes interact for target selection. A recent countermanding task pointed to greater suppression at unattended locations during trials with saccades compared to trials without saccades (i.e., fixation and successful stop trials), whereas target facilitation did not differ. It is unknown whether this finding is restricted to countermanding paradigms that involve inhibitory processes. To test this, we adapted Gaspelin and colleagues (2015)'s attention capture task where, within the same block, one location was primed with frequent line discrimination trials, and all locations were occasionally probed using letters report trials. Participants also performed a baseline condition without priming. We tested 15 participants and examined how performance at non-primed locations was affected by covert versus pre-saccadic attention in blocks of four or six items, as well as by position from the primed location and timing from saccade onset. For both attention conditions, letter report at non-primed locations was worse compared to baseline, demonstrating suppression, and letter report at primed location was better, demonstrating facilitation. In saccades trials, letter report was better at primed locations and worse at non-primed locations compared to fixation trials. The timing of this additional pre-saccadic suppression differed from saccadic suppression. In both attention conditions, suppression was greater when primed and non-primed locations were within the same hemifield or in diagonal opposite quadrants. These results confirmed that attention preceding saccade execution suppressed non-primed locations to a larger extent than covert attention, with the same spatial quadrant effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Ouerfelli-Ethier
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.,Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Trajectoires team, University of Lyon I Claude-Bernard, Bron, France.,
| | | | - Romain Fournet
- School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.,
| | - Laure Pisella
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Trajectoires team, University of Lyon I Claude-Bernard, Bron, France.,
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14
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Cruz KG, Leow YN, Le NM, Adam E, Huda R, Sur M. Cortical-subcortical interactions in goal-directed behavior. Physiol Rev 2023; 103:347-389. [PMID: 35771984 PMCID: PMC9576171 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00048.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Flexibly selecting appropriate actions in response to complex, ever-changing environments requires both cortical and subcortical regions, which are typically described as participating in a strict hierarchy. In this traditional view, highly specialized subcortical circuits allow for efficient responses to salient stimuli, at the cost of adaptability and context specificity, which are attributed to the neocortex. Their interactions are often described as the cortex providing top-down command signals for subcortical structures to implement; however, as available technologies develop, studies increasingly demonstrate that behavior is represented by brainwide activity and that even subcortical structures contain early signals of choice, suggesting that behavioral functions emerge as a result of different regions interacting as truly collaborative networks. In this review, we discuss the field's evolving understanding of how cortical and subcortical regions in placental mammals interact cooperatively, not only via top-down cortical-subcortical inputs but through bottom-up interactions, especially via the thalamus. We describe our current understanding of the circuitry of both the cortex and two exemplar subcortical structures, the superior colliculus and striatum, to identify which information is prioritized by which regions. We then describe the functional circuits these regions form with one another, and the thalamus, to create parallel loops and complex networks for brainwide information flow. Finally, we challenge the classic view that functional modules are contained within specific brain regions; instead, we propose that certain regions prioritize specific types of information over others, but the subnetworks they form, defined by their anatomical connections and functional dynamics, are the basis of true specialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Guadalupe Cruz
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Yi Ning Leow
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Nhat Minh Le
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Elie Adam
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Rafiq Huda
- W. M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
| | - Mriganka Sur
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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15
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Allocation of Visuospatial Attention Indexes Evidence Accumulation for Reach Decisions. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0313-22.2022. [PMID: 36302633 PMCID: PMC9651207 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0313-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Visuospatial attention is a prerequisite for the performance of visually guided movements: perceptual discrimination is regularly enhanced at target locations before movement initiation. It is known that this attentional prioritization evolves over the time of movement preparation; however, it is not clear whether this build-up simply reflects a time requirement of attention formation or whether, instead, attention build-up reflects the emergence of the movement decision. To address this question, we combined behavioral experiments, psychophysics, and computational decision-making models to characterize the time course of attention build-up during motor preparation. Participants (n = 46, 29 female) executed center-out reaches to one of two potential target locations and reported the identity of a visual discrimination target (DT) that occurred concurrently at one of various time-points during movement preparation and execution. Visual discrimination increased simultaneously at the two potential target locations but was modulated by the experiment-wide probability that a given location would become the final goal. Attention increased further for the location that was then designated as the final goal location, with a time course closely related to movement initiation. A sequential sampling model of decision-making faithfully predicted key temporal characteristics of attentional allocation. Together, these findings provide evidence that visuospatial attentional prioritization during motor preparation does not simply reflect that a spatial location has been selected as movement goal, but rather indexes the time-extended, cumulative decision that leads to the selection, hence constituting a link between perceptual and motor aspects of sensorimotor decisions.
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16
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Liu B, Nobre AC, van Ede F. Functional but not obligatory link between microsaccades and neural modulation by covert spatial attention. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3503. [PMID: 35715471 PMCID: PMC9205986 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31217-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Covert spatial attention is associated with spatial modulation of neural activity as well as with directional biases in fixational eye movements known as microsaccades. We studied how these two 'fingerprints' of attention are interrelated in humans. We investigated spatial modulation of 8-12 Hz EEG alpha activity and microsaccades when attention is directed internally within the spatial layout of visual working memory. Consistent with a common origin, spatial modulations of alpha activity and microsaccades co-vary: alpha lateralisation is stronger in trials with microsaccades toward versus away from the memorised location of the to-be-attended item and occurs earlier in trials with earlier microsaccades toward this item. Critically, however, trials without attention-driven microsaccades nevertheless show clear spatial modulation of alpha activity - comparable to trials with attention-driven microsaccades. Thus, directional biases in microsaccades correlate with neural signatures of spatial attention, but they are not necessary for neural modulation by spatial attention to be manifest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baiwei Liu
- Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Anna C Nobre
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Freek van Ede
- Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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17
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Leow YN, Zhou B, Sullivan HA, Barlowe AR, Wickersham IR, Sur M. Brain-wide mapping of inputs to the mouse lateral posterior (LP/Pulvinar) thalamus-anterior cingulate cortex network. J Comp Neurol 2022; 530:1992-2013. [PMID: 35383929 PMCID: PMC9167239 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The rodent homolog of the primate pulvinar, the lateral posterior (LP) thalamus, is extensively interconnected with multiple cortical areas. While these cortical interactions can span the entire LP, subdivisions of the LP are characterized by differential connections with specific cortical regions. In particular, the medial LP has reciprocal connections with frontoparietal cortical areas, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). The ACC plays an integral role in top‐down sensory processing and attentional regulation, likely exerting some of these functions via the LP. However, little is known about how ACC and LP interact, and about the information potentially integrated in this reciprocal network. Here, we address this gap by employing a projection‐specific monosynaptic rabies tracing strategy to delineate brain‐wide inputs to bottom‐up LP→ACC and top‐down ACC→LP neurons. We find that LP→ACC neurons receive inputs from widespread cortical regions, including primary and higher order sensory and motor cortical areas. LP→ACC neurons also receive extensive subcortical inputs, particularly from the intermediate and deep layers of the superior colliculus (SC). Sensory inputs to ACC→LP neurons largely arise from visual cortical areas. In addition, ACC→LP neurons integrate cross‐hemispheric prefrontal cortex inputs as well as inputs from higher order medial cortex. Our brain‐wide anatomical mapping of inputs to the reciprocal LP‐ACC pathways provides a roadmap for understanding how LP and ACC communicate different sources of information to mediate attentional control and visuomotor functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Ning Leow
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Blake Zhou
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Heather A Sullivan
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alexandria R Barlowe
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ian R Wickersham
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Mriganka Sur
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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18
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Solié C, Contestabile A, Espinosa P, Musardo S, Bariselli S, Huber C, Carleton A, Bellone C. Superior Colliculus to VTA pathway controls orienting response and influences social interaction in mice. Nat Commun 2022; 13:817. [PMID: 35145124 PMCID: PMC8831635 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28512-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Social behaviours characterize cooperative, mutualistic, aggressive or parental interactions that occur among conspecifics. Although the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) has been identified as a key substrate for social behaviours, the input and output pathways dedicated to specific aspects of conspecific interaction remain understudied. Here, in male mice, we investigated the activity and function of two distinct VTA inputs from superior colliculus (SC-VTA) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC-VTA). We observed that SC-VTA neurons display social interaction anticipatory calcium activity, which correlates with orienting responses towards an unfamiliar conspecific. In contrast, mPFC-VTA neuron population activity increases after initiation of the social contact. While protracted phasic stimulation of SC-VTA pathway promotes head/body movements and decreases social interaction, inhibition of this pathway increases social interaction. Here, we found that SC afferents mainly target a subpopulation of dorsolateral striatum (DLS)-projecting VTA dopamine (DA) neurons (VTADA-DLS). While, VTADA-DLS pathway stimulation decreases social interaction, VTADA-Nucleus Accumbens stimulation promotes it. Altogether, these data support a model by which at least two largely anatomically distinct VTA sub-circuits oppositely control distinct aspects of social behaviour. Solié, Contestabile et al. show that the superior colliculus to ventral tegmental area (VTA) pathway encodes orienting behavior toward conspecifics, and modulates VTA dopamine neurons projecting onto dorsolateral striatum perturbing social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clément Solié
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1205, Genève, Switzerland.,Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS UMR 8249, ESPCI, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Alessandro Contestabile
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1205, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Pedro Espinosa
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1205, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Musardo
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1205, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Sebastiano Bariselli
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1205, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Chieko Huber
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1205, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Alan Carleton
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1205, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Camilla Bellone
- Department of Basic Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1205, Genève, Switzerland.
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19
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Stevens DA, Workman CI, Kuwabara H, Butters MA, Savonenko A, Nassery N, Gould N, Kraut M, Joo JH, Kilgore J, Kamath V, Holt DP, Dannals RF, Nandi A, Onyike CU, Smith GS. Regional amyloid correlates of cognitive performance in ageing and mild cognitive impairment. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac016. [PMID: 35233522 PMCID: PMC8882008 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Beta-amyloid deposition is one of the earliest pathological markers associated with Alzheimer's disease. Mild cognitive impairment in the setting of beta-amyloid deposition is considered to represent a preclinical manifestation of Alzheimer's disease. In vivo imaging studies are unique in their potential to advance our understanding of the role of beta-amyloid deposition in cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease and in mild cognitive impairment. Previous work has shown an association between global cortical measures of beta-amyloid deposition ('amyloid positivity') in mild cognitive impairment with greater cognitive deficits and greater risk of progression to Alzheimer's disease. The focus of the present study was to examine the relationship between the regional distribution of beta-amyloid deposition and specific cognitive deficits in people with mild cognitive impairment and cognitively normal elderly individuals. Forty-seven participants with multi-domain, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (43% female, aged 57-82 years) and 37 healthy, cognitively normal comparison subjects (42% female, aged 55-82 years) underwent clinical and neuropsychological assessments and high-resolution positron emission tomography with the radiotracer 11C-labelled Pittsburgh compound B to measure beta-amyloid deposition. Brain-behaviour partial least-squares analysis was conducted to identify spatial patterns of beta-amyloid deposition that correlated with the performance on neuropsychological assessments. Partial least-squares analysis identified a single significant (P < 0.001) latent variable which accounted for 80% of the covariance between demographic and cognitive measures and beta-amyloid deposition. Performance in immediate verbal recall (R = -0.46 ± 0.07, P < 0.001), delayed verbal recall (R = -0.39 ± 0.09, P < 0.001), immediate visual-spatial recall (R = -0.39 ± 0.08, P < 0.001), delayed visual-spatial recall (R = -0.45 ± 0.08, P < 0.001) and semantic fluency (R = -0.33 ± 0.11, P = 0.002) but not phonemic fluency (R = -0.05 ± 0.12, P < 0.705) negatively covaried with beta-amyloid deposition in the identified regions. Partial least-squares analysis of the same cognitive measures with grey matter volumes showed similar associations in overlapping brain regions. These findings suggest that the regional distribution of beta-amyloid deposition and grey matter volumetric decreases is associated with deficits in executive function and memory in mild cognitive impairment. Longitudinal analysis of these relationships may advance our understanding of the role of beta-amyloid deposition in relation to grey matter volumetric decreases in cognitive decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A. Stevens
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Clifford I. Workman
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Hiroto Kuwabara
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Meryl A. Butters
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Alena Savonenko
- Department of Pathology (Neuropathology), School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Najilla Nassery
- Department of General Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Neda Gould
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Michael Kraut
- Division of Neuroradiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jin Hui Joo
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jessica Kilgore
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Vidya Kamath
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Daniel P. Holt
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Robert F. Dannals
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ayon Nandi
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Chiadi U. Onyike
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gwenn S. Smith
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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20
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Kwon H, Kronemer SI, Christison-Lagay KL, Khalaf A, Li J, Ding JZ, Freedman NC, Blumenfeld H. Early cortical signals in visual stimulus detection. Neuroimage 2021; 244:118608. [PMID: 34560270 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
During visual conscious perception, the earliest responses linked to signal detection are little known. The current study aims to reveal the cortical neural activity changes in the earliest stages of conscious perception using recordings from intracranial electrodes. Epilepsy patients (N=158) were recruited from a multi-center collaboration and completed a visual word recall task. Broadband gamma activity (40-115Hz) was extracted with a band-pass filter and gamma power was calculated across subjects on a common brain surface. Our results show early gamma power increases within 0-50ms after stimulus onset in bilateral visual processing cortex, right frontal cortex (frontal eye fields, ventral medial/frontopolar, orbital frontal) and bilateral medial temporal cortex regardless of whether the word was later recalled. At the same early times, decreases were seen in the left rostral middle frontal gyrus. At later times after stimulus onset, gamma power changes developed in multiple cortical regions. These included sustained changes in visual and other association cortical networks, and transient decreases in the default mode network most prominently at 300-650ms. In agreement with prior work in this verbal memory task, we also saw greater increases in visual and medial temporal regions as well as prominent later (> 300ms) increases in left hemisphere language areas for recalled versus not recalled stimuli. These results suggest an early signal detection network in the frontal, medial temporal, and visual cortex is engaged at the earliest stages of conscious visual perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hunki Kwon
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8018, USA
| | - Sharif I Kronemer
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8018, USA; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Kate L Christison-Lagay
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8018, USA
| | - Aya Khalaf
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8018, USA; Biomedical Engineering and Systems, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Jiajia Li
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8018, USA; School of Information and Control Engineering, Xian University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China
| | - Julia Z Ding
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8018, USA
| | - Noah C Freedman
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8018, USA
| | - Hal Blumenfeld
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8018, USA; Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
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21
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An inferior-superior colliculus circuit controls auditory cue-directed visual spatial attention. Neuron 2021; 110:109-119.e3. [PMID: 34699777 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Selective attention modulates neuronal activity in multiple brain regions, but the origins of attention signals remain unclear. We show that, during a visual task requiring spatial attention directed by an auditory cue, an inferior-superior colliculus circuit provides the key attention signal. In mice performing a task based on a visual stimulus in the cued hemifield while ignoring a conflicting stimulus on the uncued side, the visual cortex (V1) and superior colliculus (SC) showed strong attentional modulation, with a shorter latency in the SC. The nucleus of the brachium of the inferior colliculus (nBIC), which provides auditory inputs to the SC, was activated not only at auditory cue onset but also during the delay period before the visual stimulus. The delay activity, but not cue onset activity, was crucial for task performance and attentional modulation in the SC and V1. These results establish a new behavioral paradigm for studying visual attention in mice and identify a midbrain signal controlling auditory cue-directed spatial attention.
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22
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Li HH, Hanning NM, Carrasco M. To look or not to look: dissociating presaccadic and covert spatial attention. Trends Neurosci 2021; 44:669-686. [PMID: 34099240 PMCID: PMC8552810 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Attention is a central neural process that enables selective and efficient processing of visual information. Individuals can attend to specific visual information either overtly, by making an eye movement to an object of interest, or covertly, without moving their eyes. We review behavioral, neuropsychological, neurophysiological, and computational evidence of presaccadic attentional modulations that occur while preparing saccadic eye movements, and highlight their differences from those of covert spatial endogenous (voluntary) and exogenous (involuntary) attention. We discuss recent studies and experimental procedures on how these different types of attention impact visual performance, alter appearance, differentially modulate the featural representation of basic visual dimensions (orientation and spatial frequency), engage different neural computations, and recruit partially distinct neural substrates. We conclude that presaccadic attention and covert attention are dissociable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Hung Li
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Nina M Hanning
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
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23
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Maier A, Tsuchiya N. Growing evidence for separate neural mechanisms for attention and consciousness. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 83:558-576. [PMID: 33034851 PMCID: PMC7886945 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02146-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Our conscious experience of the world seems to go in lockstep with our attentional focus: We tend to see, hear, taste, and feel what we attend to, and vice versa. This tight coupling between attention and consciousness has given rise to the idea that these two phenomena are indivisible. In the late 1950s, the honoree of this special issue, Charles Eriksen, was among a small group of early pioneers that sought to investigate whether a transient increase in overall level of attention (alertness) in response to a noxious stimulus can be decoupled from conscious perception using experimental techniques. Recent years saw a similar debate regarding whether attention and consciousness are two dissociable processes. Initial evidence that attention and consciousness are two separate processes primarily rested on behavioral data. However, the past couple of years witnessed an explosion of studies aimed at testing this conjecture using neuroscientific techniques. Here we provide an overview of these and related empirical studies on the distinction between the neuronal correlates of attention and consciousness, and detail how advancements in theory and technology can bring about a more detailed understanding of the two. We argue that the most promising approach will combine ever-evolving neurophysiological and interventionist tools with quantitative, empirically testable theories of consciousness that are grounded in a mathematically formalized understanding of phenomenology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Naotsugu Tsuchiya
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health & School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
- Advanced Telecommunications Research Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan
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Herman JP, Arcizet F, Krauzlis RJ. Attention-related modulation of caudate neurons depends on superior colliculus activity. eLife 2020; 9:e53998. [PMID: 32940607 PMCID: PMC7544506 DOI: 10.7554/elife.53998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent work has implicated the primate basal ganglia in visual perception and attention, in addition to their traditional role in motor control. The basal ganglia, especially the caudate nucleus 'head' (CDh) of the striatum, receive indirect anatomical connections from the superior colliculus (SC), a midbrain structure that is known to play a crucial role in the control of visual attention. To test the possible functional relationship between these subcortical structures, we recorded CDh neuronal activity of macaque monkeys before and during unilateral SC inactivation in a spatial attention task. SC inactivation significantly altered the attention-related modulation of CDh neurons and strongly impaired the classification of task-epochs based on CDh activity. Only inactivation of SC on the same side of the brain as recorded CDh neurons, not the opposite side, had these effects. These results demonstrate a novel interaction between SC activity and attention-related visual processing in the basal ganglia.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Herman
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye InstituteBethesdaUnited States
| | | | - Richard J Krauzlis
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye InstituteBethesdaUnited States
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25
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Sajad A, Sadeh M, Crawford JD. Spatiotemporal transformations for gaze control. Physiol Rep 2020; 8:e14533. [PMID: 32812395 PMCID: PMC7435051 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.14533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensorimotor transformations require spatiotemporal coordination of signals, that is, through both time and space. For example, the gaze control system employs signals that are time-locked to various sensorimotor events, but the spatial content of these signals is difficult to assess during ordinary gaze shifts. In this review, we describe the various models and methods that have been devised to test this question, and their limitations. We then describe a new method that can (a) simultaneously test between all of these models during natural, head-unrestrained conditions, and (b) track the evolving spatial continuum from target (T) to future gaze coding (G, including errors) through time. We then summarize some applications of this technique, comparing spatiotemporal coding in the primate frontal eye field (FEF) and superior colliculus (SC). The results confirm that these areas preferentially encode eye-centered, effector-independent parameters, and show-for the first time in ordinary gaze shifts-a spatial transformation between visual and motor responses from T to G coding. We introduce a new set of spatial models (T-G continuum) that revealed task-dependent timing of this transformation: progressive during a memory delay between vision and action, and almost immediate without such a delay. We synthesize the results from our studies and supplement it with previous knowledge of anatomy and physiology to propose a conceptual model where cumulative transformation noise is realized as inaccuracies in gaze behavior. We conclude that the spatiotemporal transformation for gaze is both local (observed within and across neurons in a given area) and distributed (with common signals shared across remote but interconnected structures).
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Affiliation(s)
- Amirsaman Sajad
- Centre for Vision ResearchYork UniversityTorontoONCanada
- Psychology DepartmentVanderbilt UniversityNashvilleTNUSA
| | - Morteza Sadeh
- Centre for Vision ResearchYork UniversityTorontoONCanada
- Department of NeurosurgeryUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoChicagoILUSA
| | - John Douglas Crawford
- Centre for Vision ResearchYork UniversityTorontoONCanada
- Vision: Science to Applications Program (VISTA)Neuroscience Graduate Diploma ProgramDepartments of Psychology, Biology, Kinesiology & Health SciencesYork UniversityTorontoONCanada
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26
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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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Szinte M, Puntiroli M, Deubel H. The spread of presaccadic attention depends on the spatial configuration of the visual scene. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14034. [PMID: 31575909 PMCID: PMC6773758 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50541-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
When preparing a saccade, attentional resources are focused at the saccade target and its immediate vicinity. Here we show that this does not hold true when saccades are prepared toward a recently extinguished target. We obtained detailed maps of orientation sensitivity when participants prepared a saccade toward a target that either remained on the screen or disappeared before the eyes moved. We found that attention was mainly focused on the immediate surround of the visible target and spread to more peripheral locations as a function of the distance from the cue and the delay between the target's disappearance and the saccade. Interestingly, this spread was not accompanied with a spread of the saccade endpoint. These results suggest that presaccadic attention and saccade programming are two distinct processes that can be dissociated as a function of their interaction with the spatial configuration of the visual scene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Szinte
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 7289, Marseille, 13005, France. .,Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
| | - Michael Puntiroli
- Institute of Management, Université de Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Heiner Deubel
- Allgemeine und Experimentelle Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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28
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Jonikaitis D, Moore T. The interdependence of attention, working memory and gaze control: behavior and neural circuitry. Curr Opin Psychol 2019; 29:126-134. [PMID: 30825836 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Revised: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Visual attention, visual working memory, and gaze control are basic functions that all select a subset of visual input to guide immediate or subsequent behavior. In this review, we focus on the relationship between these three functions and describe evidence, both at the behavioral and neural circuit levels that they are heavily interdependent. We start with the demonstration that gaze control - or saccade preparation in particular - leads to spatial attention. Next, we show that spatial attention and working memory interact at the behavioral level and rely on a common set of neural mechanisms. Next, we discuss the evidence that gaze control mechanisms are involved in spatial working memory. Lastly, we highlight the links between gaze control and non-spatial memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donatas Jonikaitis
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States.
| | - Tirin Moore
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States.
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29
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Bogadhi AR, Bollimunta A, Leopold DA, Krauzlis RJ. Spatial Attention Deficits Are Causally Linked to an Area in Macaque Temporal Cortex. Curr Biol 2019; 29:726-736.e4. [PMID: 30773369 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 12/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Spatial neglect is a common clinical syndrome involving disruption of the brain's attention-related circuitry, including the dorsocaudal temporal cortex. In macaques, the attention deficits associated with neglect can be readily modeled, but the absence of evidence for temporal cortex involvement has suggested a fundamental difference from humans. To map the neurological expression of neglect-like attention deficits in macaques, we measured attention-related fMRI activity across the cerebral cortex during experimental induction of neglect through reversible inactivation of the superior colliculus and frontal eye fields. During inactivation, monkeys exhibited hallmark attentional deficits of neglect in tasks using either motion or non-motion stimuli. The behavioral deficits were accompanied by marked reductions in fMRI attentional modulation that were strongest in a small region on the floor of the superior temporal sulcus; smaller reductions were also found in frontal eye fields and dorsal parietal cortex. Notably, direct inactivation of the mid-superior temporal sulcus (STS) cortical region identified by fMRI caused similar neglect-like spatial attention deficits. These results identify a putative macaque homolog to temporal cortex structures known to play a central role in human neglect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amarender R Bogadhi
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| | - Anil Bollimunta
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - David A Leopold
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Neurophysiology Imaging Facility, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Richard J Krauzlis
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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