1
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Khamechian MB, Daliri MR, Treue S, Esghaei M. Coupled oscillations orchestrate selective information transmission in visual cortex. PNAS NEXUS 2024; 3:pgae288. [PMID: 39161729 PMCID: PMC11331424 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024]
Abstract
Performing visually guided behavior involves flexible routing of sensory information towards associative areas. We hypothesize that in visual cortical areas, this routing is shaped by a gating influence of the local neuronal population on the activity of the same population's single neurons. We analyzed beta frequencies (representing local population activity), high-gamma frequencies (representative of the activity of local clusters of neurons), and the firing of single neurons in the medial temporal (MT) area of behaving rhesus monkeys. Our results show an influence of beta activity on single neurons, predictive of behavioral performance. Similarly, the temporal dependence of high-gamma on beta predicts behavioral performance. These demonstrate a unidirectional influence of network-level neural dynamics on single-neuron activity, preferentially routing relevant information. This demonstration of a local top-down influence unveils a previously unexplored perspective onto a core feature of cortical information processing: the selective transmission of sensory information to downstream areas based on behavioral relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Bagher Khamechian
- Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research Laboratory, Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Dardasht St., District 8, Tehran 16846-13114, Iran
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Opposite the ARAJ, Artesh Highway, Aghdassieh, Tehran 1956836613, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Daliri
- Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research Laboratory, Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Dardasht St., District 8, Tehran 16846-13114, Iran
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Opposite the ARAJ, Artesh Highway, Aghdassieh, Tehran 1956836613, Iran
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Gottingen 37077, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Psychology, University of Gottingen, Wilhelm-Weber-Str. 2, Gottingen 37073, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Heinrich-Düker-Weg 12, Göttingen 37073, Germany
- Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, Goettingen 37077, Germany
| | - Moein Esghaei
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Opposite the ARAJ, Artesh Highway, Aghdassieh, Tehran 1956836613, Iran
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Gottingen 37077, Germany
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2
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Chapman AF, Störmer VS. Representational structures as a unifying framework for attention. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:416-427. [PMID: 38280837 PMCID: PMC11290436 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Our visual system consciously processes only a subset of the incoming information. Selective attention allows us to prioritize relevant inputs, and can be allocated to features, locations, and objects. Recent advances in feature-based attention suggest that several selection principles are shared across these domains and that many differences between the effects of attention on perceptual processing can be explained by differences in the underlying representational structures. Moving forward, it can thus be useful to assess how attention changes the structure of the representational spaces over which it operates, which include the spatial organization, feature maps, and object-based coding in visual cortex. This will ultimately add to our understanding of how attention changes the flow of visual information processing more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angus F Chapman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Viola S Störmer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
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3
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Hüer J, Saxena P, Treue S. Pathway-selective optogenetics reveals the functional anatomy of top-down attentional modulation in the macaque visual cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2304511121. [PMID: 38194453 PMCID: PMC10801865 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304511121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Spatial attention represents a powerful top-down influence on sensory responses in primate visual cortical areas. The frontal eye field (FEF) has emerged as a key candidate area for the source of this modulation. However, it is unclear whether the FEF exerts its effects via its direct axonal projections to visual areas or indirectly through other brain areas and whether the FEF affects both the enhancement of attended and the suppression of unattended sensory responses. We used pathway-selective optogenetics in rhesus macaques performing a spatial attention task to inhibit the direct input from the FEF to area MT, an area along the dorsal visual pathway specialized for the processing of visual motion information. Our results show that the optogenetic inhibition of the FEF input specifically reduces attentional modulation in MT by about a third without affecting the neurons' sensory response component. We find that the direct FEF-to-MT pathway contributes to both the enhanced processing of target stimuli and the suppression of distractors. The FEF, thus, selectively modulates firing rates in visual area MT, and it does so via its direct axonal projections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janina Hüer
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt60528, Germany
| | - Pankhuri Saxena
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen37077, Germany
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37073, Germany
- Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Göttingen37073, Germany
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4
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Chapman AF, Chunharas C, Störmer VS. Feature-based attention warps the perception of visual features. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6487. [PMID: 37081047 PMCID: PMC10119379 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33488-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Selective attention improves sensory processing of relevant information but can also impact the quality of perception. For example, attention increases visual discrimination performance and at the same time boosts apparent stimulus contrast of attended relative to unattended stimuli. Can attention also lead to perceptual distortions of visual representations? Optimal tuning accounts of attention suggest that processing is biased towards "off-tuned" features to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio in favor of the target, especially when targets and distractors are confusable. Here, we tested whether such tuning gives rise to phenomenological changes of visual features. We instructed participants to select a color among other colors in a visual search display and subsequently asked them to judge the appearance of the target color in a 2-alternative forced choice task. Participants consistently judged the target color to appear more dissimilar from the distractor color in feature space. Critically, the magnitude of these perceptual biases varied systematically with the similarity between target and distractor colors during search, indicating that attentional tuning quickly adapts to current task demands. In control experiments we rule out possible non-attentional explanations such as color contrast or memory effects. Overall, our results demonstrate that selective attention warps the representational geometry of color space, resulting in profound perceptual changes across large swaths of feature space. Broadly, these results indicate that efficient attentional selection can come at a perceptual cost by distorting our sensory experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angus F Chapman
- Department of Psychology, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92092, USA.
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, 64 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
| | - Chaipat Chunharas
- Cognitive Clinical and Computational Neuroscience Lab, KCMH Chula Neuroscience Center, Thai Red Cross Society, Department of Internal Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Viola S Störmer
- Department of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
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5
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Valzolgher C, Alzaher M, Gaveau V, Coudert A, Marx M, Truy E, Barone P, Farnè A, Pavani F. Capturing Visual Attention With Perturbed Auditory Spatial Cues. Trends Hear 2023; 27:23312165231182289. [PMID: 37611181 PMCID: PMC10467228 DOI: 10.1177/23312165231182289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Lateralized sounds can orient visual attention, with benefits for audio-visual processing. Here, we asked to what extent perturbed auditory spatial cues-resulting from cochlear implants (CI) or unilateral hearing loss (uHL)-allow this automatic mechanism of information selection from the audio-visual environment. We used a classic paradigm from experimental psychology (capture of visual attention with sounds) to probe the integrity of audio-visual attentional orienting in 60 adults with hearing loss: bilateral CI users (N = 20), unilateral CI users (N = 20), and individuals with uHL (N = 20). For comparison, we also included a group of normal-hearing (NH, N = 20) participants, tested in binaural and monaural listening conditions (i.e., with one ear plugged). All participants also completed a sound localization task to assess spatial hearing skills. Comparable audio-visual orienting was observed in bilateral CI, uHL, and binaural NH participants. By contrast, audio-visual orienting was, on average, absent in unilateral CI users and reduced in NH listening with one ear plugged. Spatial hearing skills were better in bilateral CI, uHL, and binaural NH participants than in unilateral CI users and monaurally plugged NH listeners. In unilateral CI users, spatial hearing skills correlated with audio-visual-orienting abilities. These novel results show that audio-visual-attention orienting can be preserved in bilateral CI users and in uHL patients to a greater extent than unilateral CI users. This highlights the importance of assessing the impact of hearing loss beyond auditory difficulties alone: to capture to what extent it may enable or impede typical interactions with the multisensory environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Valzolgher
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Integrative, Multisensory, Perception, Action and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France
| | - Mariam Alzaher
- Centre de Recherche Cerveau & Cognition, Toulouse, France
- Hospices Civils, Toulouse, France
| | - Valérie Gaveau
- Integrative, Multisensory, Perception, Action and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France
| | | | - Mathieu Marx
- Centre de Recherche Cerveau & Cognition, Toulouse, France
- Hospices Civils, Toulouse, France
| | - Eric Truy
- Integrative, Multisensory, Perception, Action and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Pascal Barone
- Centre de Recherche Cerveau & Cognition, Toulouse, France
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Integrative, Multisensory, Perception, Action and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France
- Neuro-immersion, Lyon, France
| | - Francesco Pavani
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences - CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Integrative, Multisensory, Perception, Action and Cognition Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France
- Centro Interuniversitario di Ricerca « Cognizione, Linguaggio e Sordità », Rovereto, Italy
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6
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Witkowski PP, Geng JJ. Attentional priority is determined by predicted feature distributions. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2022; 48:1201-1212. [PMID: 36048065 PMCID: PMC10249461 DOI: 10.1037/xhp0001041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Visual attention is often characterized as being guided by precise memories for target objects. However, real-world search targets have dynamic features that vary over time, meaning that observers must predict how the target could look based on how features are expected to change. Despite its importance, little is known about how target feature predictions influence feature-based attention, or how these predictions are represented in the target template. In Experiment 1 (N = 60 university students), we show observers readily track the statistics of target features over time and adapt attentional priority to predictions about the distribution of target features. In Experiments 2a and 2b (N = 480 university students), we show that these predictions are encoded into the target template as a distribution of likelihoods over possible target features, which are independent of memory precision for the cued item. These results provide a novel demonstration of how observers represent predicted feature distributions when target features are uncertain and show that these predictions are used to set attentional priority during visual search. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip P. Witkowski
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95618
- Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95618
| | - Joy J. Geng
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95618
- Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95618
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7
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Yoo SA, Martinez-Trujillo JC, Treue S, Tsotsos JK, Fallah M. Attention to visual motion suppresses neuronal and behavioral sensitivity in nearby feature space. BMC Biol 2022; 20:220. [PMID: 36199136 PMCID: PMC9535987 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01428-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Feature-based attention prioritizes the processing of the attended feature while strongly suppressing the processing of nearby ones. This creates a non-linearity or “attentional suppressive surround” predicted by the Selective Tuning model of visual attention. However, previously reported effects of feature-based attention on neuronal responses are linear, e.g., feature-similarity gain. Here, we investigated this apparent contradiction by neurophysiological and psychophysical approaches. Results Responses of motion direction-selective neurons in area MT/MST of monkeys were recorded during a motion task. When attention was allocated to a stimulus moving in the neurons’ preferred direction, response tuning curves showed its minimum for directions 60–90° away from the preferred direction, an attentional suppressive surround. This effect was modeled via the interaction of two Gaussian fields representing excitatory narrowly tuned and inhibitory widely tuned inputs into a neuron, with feature-based attention predominantly increasing the gain of inhibitory inputs. We further showed using a motion repulsion paradigm in humans that feature-based attention produces a similar non-linearity on motion discrimination performance. Conclusions Our results link the gain modulation of neuronal inputs and tuning curves examined through the feature-similarity gain lens to the attentional impact on neural population responses predicted by the Selective Tuning model, providing a unified framework for the documented effects of feature-based attention on neuronal responses and behavior. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-022-01428-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sang-Ah Yoo
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada. .,Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada. .,Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.
| | - Julio C Martinez-Trujillo
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, and Psychiatry, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada. .,Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada.
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Centre - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077, Goettingen, Germany.,Faculty for Biology and Psychology, University of Goettingen, 37073, Goettingen, Germany.,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37077, Goettingen, Germany.,Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
| | - John K Tsotsos
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.,Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.,Vision: Science to Application, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.,Center for Innovation and Computing at Lassonde, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Mazyar Fallah
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.,Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.,Vision: Science to Application, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.,School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.,Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
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8
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Almeida VN, Radanovic M. Semantic processing and neurobiology in Alzheimer's disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment. Neuropsychologia 2022; 174:108337. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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9
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Calapai A, Cabrera-Moreno J, Moser T, Jeschke M. Flexible auditory training, psychophysics, and enrichment of common marmosets with an automated, touchscreen-based system. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1648. [PMID: 35347139 PMCID: PMC8960775 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29185-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Devising new and more efficient protocols to analyze the phenotypes of non-human primates, as well as their complex nervous systems, is rapidly becoming of paramount importance. This is because with genome-editing techniques, recently adopted to non-human primates, new animal models for fundamental and translational research have been established. One aspect in particular, namely cognitive hearing, has been difficult to assess compared to visual cognition. To address this, we devised autonomous, standardized, and unsupervised training and testing of auditory capabilities of common marmosets with a cage-based standalone, wireless system. All marmosets tested voluntarily operated the device on a daily basis and went from naïve to experienced at their own pace and with ease. Through a series of experiments, here we show, that animals autonomously learn to associate sounds with images; to flexibly discriminate sounds, and to detect sounds of varying loudness. The developed platform and training principles combine in-cage training of common marmosets for cognitive and psychoacoustic assessment with an enriched environment that does not rely on dietary restriction or social separation, in compliance with the 3Rs principle.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Calapai
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Cognitive Hearing in Primates (CHiP) Group, Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus "Primate Cognition", Göttingen, Germany
| | - J Cabrera-Moreno
- Cognitive Hearing in Primates (CHiP) Group, Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
- Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics and Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - T Moser
- Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
- Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics and Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
- Auditory Neuroscience Group and Synaptic Nanophysiology Group, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - M Jeschke
- Cognitive Hearing in Primates (CHiP) Group, Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.
- Auditory Neuroscience and Optogenetics Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.
- Leibniz ScienceCampus "Primate Cognition", Göttingen, Germany.
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.
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10
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Pastukhov A, Carbon CC. Change not State: Perceptual coupling in multistable displays reflects transient bias induced by perceptual change. Psychon Bull Rev 2022; 29:97-107. [PMID: 34341970 PMCID: PMC8858312 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-01960-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We investigated how changes in dynamic spatial context influence visual perception. Specifically, we reexamined the perceptual coupling phenomenon when two multistable displays viewed simultaneously tend to be in the same dominant state and switch in accord. Current models assume this interaction reflecting mutual bias produced by a dominant perceptual state. In contrast, we demonstrate that influence of spatial context is strongest when perception changes. First, we replicated earlier work using bistable kinetic-depth effect displays, then extended it by employing asynchronous presentation to show that perceptual coupling cannot be accounted for by the static context provided by perceptually dominant states. Next, we demonstrated that perceptual coupling reflects transient bias induced by perceptual change, both in ambiguous and disambiguated displays. We used a hierarchical Bayesian model to characterize its timing, demonstrating that the transient bias is induced 50-70 ms after the exogenous trigger event and decays within ~200-300 ms. Both endogenous and exogenous switches led to quantitatively and qualitatively similar perceptual consequences, activating similar perceptual reevaluation mechanisms within a spatial surround. We explain how they can be understood within a transient selective visual attention framework or using local lateral connections within sensory representations. We suggest that observed perceptual effects reflect general mechanisms of perceptual inference for dynamic visual scene perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Pastukhov
- Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany.
- Research Group EPÆG (Ergonomics, Psychological Æsthetics, Gestalt), Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany.
| | - Claus-Christian Carbon
- Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
- Research Group EPÆG (Ergonomics, Psychological Æsthetics, Gestalt), Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
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11
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Ongoing neural oscillations influence behavior and sensory representations by suppressing neuronal excitability. Neuroimage 2021; 247:118746. [PMID: 34875382 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to process and respond to external input is critical for adaptive behavior. Why, then, do neural and behavioral responses vary across repeated presentations of the same sensory input? Ongoing fluctuations of neuronal excitability are currently hypothesized to underlie the trial-by-trial variability in sensory processing. To test this, we capitalized on intracranial electrophysiology in neurosurgical patients performing an auditory discrimination task with visual cues: specifically, we examined the interaction between prestimulus alpha oscillations, excitability, task performance, and decoded neural stimulus representations. We found that strong prestimulus oscillations in the alpha+ band (i.e., alpha and neighboring frequencies), rather than the aperiodic signal, correlated with a low excitability state, indexed by reduced broadband high-frequency activity. This state was related to slower reaction times and reduced neural stimulus encoding strength. We propose that the alpha+ rhythm modulates excitability, thereby resulting in variability in behavior and sensory representations despite identical input.
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12
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Wild B, Treue S. Primate extrastriate cortical area MST: a gateway between sensation and cognition. J Neurophysiol 2021; 125:1851-1882. [PMID: 33656951 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00384.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Primate visual cortex consists of dozens of distinct brain areas, each providing a highly specialized component to the sophisticated task of encoding the incoming sensory information and creating a representation of our visual environment that underlies our perception and action. One such area is the medial superior temporal cortex (MST), a motion-sensitive, direction-selective part of the primate visual cortex. It receives most of its input from the middle temporal (MT) area, but MST cells have larger receptive fields and respond to more complex motion patterns. The finding that MST cells are tuned for optic flow patterns has led to the suggestion that the area plays an important role in the perception of self-motion. This hypothesis has received further support from studies showing that some MST cells also respond selectively to vestibular cues. Furthermore, the area is part of a network that controls the planning and execution of smooth pursuit eye movements and its activity is modulated by cognitive factors, such as attention and working memory. This review of more than 90 studies focuses on providing clarity of the heterogeneous findings on MST in the macaque cortex and its putative homolog in the human cortex. From this analysis of the unique anatomical and functional position in the hierarchy of areas and processing steps in primate visual cortex, MST emerges as a gateway between perception, cognition, and action planning. Given this pivotal role, this area represents an ideal model system for the transition from sensation to cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedict Wild
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany.,Goettingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB), University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany.,Faculty of Biology and Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany.,Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Goettingen, Germany
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13
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Parto Dezfouli M, Schwedhelm P, Wibral M, Treue S, Daliri MR, Esghaei M. A neural correlate of visual feature binding in primate lateral prefrontal cortex. Neuroimage 2021; 229:117757. [PMID: 33460801 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
We effortlessly perceive visual objects as unified entities, despite the preferential encoding of their various visual features in separate cortical areas. A 'binding' process is assumed to be required for creating this unified percept, but the underlying neural mechanism and specific brain areas are poorly understood. We investigated 'feature-binding' across two feature dimensions, using a novel stimulus configuration, designed to disambiguate whether a given combination of color and motion direction is perceived as bound or unbound. In the "bound" condition, two behaviorally relevant features (color and motion) belong to the same object, while in the "unbound" condition they belong to different objects. We recorded local field potentials from the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) in macaque monkeys that actively monitored the different stimulus configurations. Our data show a neural representation of visual feature binding especially in the 4-12 Hz frequency band and a transmission of binding information between different lPFC neural subpopulations. This information is linked to the animal's reaction time, suggesting a behavioral relevance of the binding information. Together, our results document the involvement of the prefrontal cortex, targeted by the dorsal and ventral visual streams, in binding visual features from different dimensions, in a process that includes a dynamic modulation of low frequency inter-regional communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsen Parto Dezfouli
- Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science & Technology (IUST), 16846-13114 Narmak, Tehran, Iran; School of Cognitive Sciences (SCS), Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran; Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Philipp Schwedhelm
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Goettingen, Germany; Functional Imaging Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Michael Wibral
- Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Kellnerweg 7, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Goettingen, Germany; Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Am Fassberg 17, 37077, Goettingen, Germany; Faculty of Biology and Psychology, University of Goettingen, Wilhelm-Weber-Str. 2, 37073 Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Mohammad Reza Daliri
- Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science & Technology (IUST), 16846-13114 Narmak, Tehran, Iran; School of Cognitive Sciences (SCS), Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran.
| | - Moein Esghaei
- School of Cognitive Sciences (SCS), Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran; Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Goettingen, Germany.
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14
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Davidson MJ, Mithen W, Hogendoorn H, van Boxtel JJA, Tsuchiya N. The SSVEP tracks attention, not consciousness, during perceptual filling-in. eLife 2020; 9:e60031. [PMID: 33170121 PMCID: PMC7682990 DOI: 10.7554/elife.60031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Research on the neural basis of conscious perception has almost exclusively shown that becoming aware of a stimulus leads to increased neural responses. By designing a novel form of perceptual filling-in (PFI) overlaid with a dynamic texture display, we frequency-tagged multiple disappearing targets as well as their surroundings. We show that in a PFI paradigm, the disappearance of a stimulus and subjective invisibility is associated with increases in neural activity, as measured with steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs), in electroencephalography (EEG). We also find that this increase correlates with alpha-band activity, a well-established neural measure of attention. These findings cast doubt on the direct relationship previously reported between the strength of neural activity and conscious perception, at least when measured with current tools, such as the SSVEP. Instead, we conclude that SSVEP strength more closely measures changes in attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Davidson
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Will Mithen
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
| | - Hinze Hogendoorn
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of MelbourneMelbourneAustralia
| | - Jeroen JA van Boxtel
- Discipline of Psychology, Faculty of Health, University of CanberraCanberraAustralia
| | - Naotsugu Tsuchiya
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)SuitaJapan
- Advanced Telecommunications Research Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gunKyotoJapan
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15
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Crayen MA, Yurt P, Treue S, Esghaei M. Commentary: The causal role of α-oscillations in feature binding. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:753. [PMID: 32973423 PMCID: PMC7466719 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Max A Crayen
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Pinar Yurt
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Moein Esghaei
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Royan Institute for Steam Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
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