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Thielen J, van Leeuwen TM, Hazenberg SJ, Wester AZL, de Lange FP, van Lier R. Amodal completion across the brain: The impact of structure and knowledge. J Vis 2024; 24:10. [PMID: 38869373 PMCID: PMC11185268 DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.6.10] [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: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
This study investigates the phenomenon of amodal completion within the context of naturalistic objects, employing a repetition suppression paradigm to disentangle the influence of structure and knowledge cues on how objects are completed. The research focuses on early visual cortex (EVC) and lateral occipital complex (LOC), shedding light on how these brain regions respond to different completion scenarios. In LOC, we observed suppressed responses to structure and knowledge-compatible stimuli, providing evidence that both cues influence neural processing in higher-level visual areas. However, in EVC, we did not find evidence for differential responses to completions compatible or incompatible with either structural or knowledge-based expectations. Together, our findings suggest that the interplay between structure and knowledge cues in amodal completion predominantly impacts higher-level visual processing, with less pronounced effects on the early visual cortex. This study contributes to our understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying visual perception and highlights the distinct roles played by different brain regions in amodal completion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordy Thielen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6264-0367
| | - Tessa M van Leeuwen
- Department of Communication and Cognition, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7810-6348
| | - Simon J Hazenberg
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7408-0500
| | - Anna Z L Wester
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4111-2052
| | - Floris P de Lange
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6730-1452
| | - Rob van Lier
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4705-5725
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Kandemir G, Wilhelm SA, Axmacher N, Akyürek EG. Maintenance of color memoranda in activity-quiescent working memory states: Evidence from impulse perturbation. iScience 2024; 27:109565. [PMID: 38617556 PMCID: PMC11015458 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we used an impulse perturbation method to probe working memory maintenance of colors in neurally active and activity-quiescent states, focusing on a set of pre-registered analyses. We analyzed the electroencephalograph (EEG) data of 30 participants who completed a delayed match-to-sample working memory task, in which one of the two items that were presented was retro-cued as task relevant. The analyses revealed that both cued and uncued colors were decodable from impulse-evoked activity, the latter in contrast to previous reports of working memory for orientation gratings. Decoding of colors from oscillations in the alpha band showed that cued items could be decoded therein whereas uncued items could not. Overall, the outcomes suggest that subtle differences exist between the representation of colors, and that of stimuli with spatial properties, but the present results also demonstrate that regardless of their specific neural state, both are accessible through visual impulse perturbation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Güven Kandemir
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen 9712 TS, the Netherlands
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081 BT, the Netherlands
| | - Sophia A. Wilhelm
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen 9712 TS, the Netherlands
| | - Nikolai Axmacher
- Department of Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Elkan G. Akyürek
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen 9712 TS, the Netherlands
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Barbieri R, Töpfer FM, Soch J, Bogler C, Sprekeler H, Haynes JD. Encoding of continuous perceptual choices in human early visual cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1277539. [PMID: 38021249 PMCID: PMC10679739 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1277539] [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: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Research on the neural mechanisms of perceptual decision-making has typically focused on simple categorical choices, say between two alternative motion directions. Studies on such discrete alternatives have often suggested that choices are encoded either in a motor-based or in an abstract, categorical format in regions beyond sensory cortex. Methods In this study, we used motion stimuli that could vary anywhere between 0° and 360° to assess how the brain encodes choices for features that span the full sensory continuum. We employed a combination of neuroimaging and encoding models based on Gaussian process regression to assess how either stimuli or choices were encoded in brain responses. Results We found that single-voxel tuning patterns could be used to reconstruct the trial-by-trial physical direction of motion as well as the participants' continuous choices. Importantly, these continuous choice signals were primarily observed in early visual areas. The tuning properties in this region generalized between choice encoding and stimulus encoding, even for reports that reflected pure guessing. Discussion We found only little information related to the decision outcome in regions beyond visual cortex, such as parietal cortex, possibly because our task did not involve differential motor preparation. This could suggest that decisions for continuous stimuli take can place already in sensory brain regions, potentially using similar mechanisms to the sensory recruitment in visual working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Barbieri
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience and Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix M. Töpfer
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience and Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany
| | - Joram Soch
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience and Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Carsten Bogler
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience and Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany
| | - Henning Sprekeler
- Department for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - John-Dylan Haynes
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience and Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain and Institute of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Liu B, Nobre AC, van Ede F. Microsaccades transiently lateralise EEG alpha activity. Prog Neurobiol 2023; 224:102433. [PMID: 36907349 PMCID: PMC10074474 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
The lateralisation of 8-12 Hz alpha activity is a canonical signature of human spatial cognition that is typically studied under strict fixation requirements. Yet, even during attempted fixation, the brain produces small involuntary eye movements known as microsaccades. Here we report how spontaneous microsaccades - made in the absence of incentives to look elsewhere - can themselves drive transient lateralisation of EEG alpha power according to microsaccade direction. This transient lateralisation of posterior alpha power occurs similarly following start and return microsaccades and is, at least for start microsaccades, driven by increased alpha power ipsilateral to microsaccade direction. This reveals new links between spontaneous microsaccades and human electrophysiological brain activity. It highlights how microsaccades are an important factor to consider in studies relating alpha activity - including spontaneous fluctuations in alpha activity - to spatial cognition, such as studies on visual attention, anticipation, and working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baiwei Liu
- Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Anna C Nobre
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Freek van Ede
- Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Reeves SM, Otero-Millan J. The influence of scene tilt on saccade directions is amplitude dependent. J Neurol Sci 2023; 448:120635. [PMID: 37031623 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2023.120635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/28/2023]
Abstract
When exploring a visual scene, humans make more saccades in the horizontal direction than any other direction. While many have shown that the horizontal saccade bias rotates in response to scene tilt, it is unclear whether this effect depends on saccade amplitude. We addressed this question by examining the effect of image tilt on the saccade direction distributions recorded during freely viewing natural scenes. Participants (n = 20) viewed scenes tilted at -30°, 0°, and 30°. Saccade distributions during free viewing rotated by an angle of 12.1° ± 6.7° (t(19) = 8.04, p < 0.001) in the direction of the image tilt. When we partitioned the saccades according to their amplitude we found that small amplitude saccades occurred most in the horizontal direction while large amplitude saccades were more oriented to the scene tilt (p < 0.001). To further study the characteristics of small saccades and how they are affected by scene tilt, we looked at the effect of image tilt on small fixational saccades made while fixating a central target amidst a larger scene and found that fixational saccade distributions did not rotate with scene tilt (-0.3° ±1.7° degrees; t(19) = -0.8, p = 0.39). These results suggest a combined effect of two reference frames in saccade generation: one egocentric reference frame that dominates for small saccades, biases them horizontally, and may be common for different tasks, and another allocentric reference frame that biases larger saccades along the orientation of an image during free viewing.
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Thielen J, Bosch SE, van Leeuwen TM, van Gerven MAJ, van Lier R. Evidence for confounding eye movements under attempted fixation and active viewing in cognitive neuroscience. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17456. [PMID: 31767911 PMCID: PMC6877555 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54018-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Eye movements can have serious confounding effects in cognitive neuroscience experiments. Therefore, participants are commonly asked to fixate. Regardless, participants will make so-called fixational eye movements under attempted fixation, which are thought to be necessary to prevent perceptual fading. Neural changes related to these eye movements could potentially explain previously reported neural decoding and neuroimaging results under attempted fixation. In previous work, under attempted fixation and passive viewing, we found no evidence for systematic eye movements. Here, however, we show that participants' eye movements are systematic under attempted fixation when active viewing is demanded by the task. Since eye movements directly affect early visual cortex activity, commonly used for neural decoding, our findings imply alternative explanations for previously reported results in neural decoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordy Thielen
- Radboud University, Donders Centre for Cognition, Nijmegen, 6525 HR, The Netherlands.
| | - Sander E Bosch
- Radboud University, Donders Centre for Cognition, Nijmegen, 6525 HR, The Netherlands
| | - Tessa M van Leeuwen
- Radboud University, Donders Centre for Cognition, Nijmegen, 6525 HR, The Netherlands
| | - Marcel A J van Gerven
- Radboud University, Donders Centre for Cognition, Nijmegen, 6525 HR, The Netherlands
| | - Rob van Lier
- Radboud University, Donders Centre for Cognition, Nijmegen, 6525 HR, The Netherlands
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Quax SC, Dijkstra N, van Staveren MJ, Bosch SE, van Gerven MA. Eye movements explain decodability during perception and cued attention in MEG. Neuroimage 2019; 195:444-453. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2018] [Revised: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
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