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Westerberg JA, Schall JD, Woodman GF, Maier A. Feedforward attentional selection in sensory cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5993. [PMID: 37752171 PMCID: PMC10522696 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41745-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Salient objects grab attention because they stand out from their surroundings. Whether this phenomenon is accomplished by bottom-up sensory processing or requires top-down guidance is debated. We tested these alternative hypotheses by measuring how early and in which cortical layer(s) neural spiking distinguished a target from a distractor. We measured synaptic and spiking activity across cortical columns in mid-level area V4 of male macaque monkeys performing visual search for a color singleton. A neural signature of attentional capture was observed in the earliest response in the input layer 4. The magnitude of this response predicted response time and accuracy. Errant behavior followed errant selection. Because this response preceded top-down influences and arose in the cortical layer not targeted by top-down connections, these findings demonstrate that feedforward activation of sensory cortex can underlie attentional priority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Vision: Science to Applications Program, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Geoffrey F Woodman
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
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Tovar DA, Westerberg JA, Cox MA, Dougherty K, Wallace MT, Bastos AM, Maier A. Near-field potentials index local neural computations more accurately than population spiking. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.11.540026. [PMID: 37214905 PMCID: PMC10197629 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.11.540026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Local field potentials (LFP) are low-frequency extracellular voltage fluctuations thought to primarily arise from synaptic activity. However, unlike highly localized neuronal spiking, LFP is spatially less specific. LFP measured at one location is not entirely generated there due to far-field contributions that are passively conducted across volumes of neural tissue. We sought to quantify how much information within the locally generated, near-field low-frequency activity (nfLFP) is masked by volume-conducted far-field signals. To do so, we measured laminar neural activity in primary visual cortex (V1) of monkeys viewing sequences of multifeatured stimuli. We compared information content of regular LFP and nfLFP that was mathematically stripped of volume-conducted far-field contributions. Information content was estimated by decoding stimulus properties from neural responses via spatiotemporal multivariate pattern analysis. Volume-conducted information differed from locally generated information in two important ways: (1) for stimulus features relevant to V1 processing (orientation and eye-of-origin), nfLFP contained more information. (2) in contrast, the volume-conducted signal was more informative regarding temporal context (relative stimulus position in a sequence), a signal likely to be coming from elsewhere. Moreover, LFP and nfLFP differed both spectrally as well as spatially, urging caution regarding the interpretations of individual frequency bands and/or laminar patterns of LFP. Most importantly, we found that population spiking of local neurons was less informative than either the LFP or nfLFP, with nfLFP containing most of the relevant information regarding local stimulus processing. These findings suggest that the optimal way to read out local computational processing from neural activity is to decode the local contributions to LFP, with significant information loss hampering both regular LFP and local spiking. Author’s Contributions Conceptualization, D.A.T., J.A.W, and A.M.; Data Collection, J.A.W., M.A.C., K.D.; Formal Analysis, D.A.T. and J.A.W.; Data Visualization, D.A.T. and J.A.W.; Original Draft, D.A.T., J.A.W., and A.M.; Revisions and Final Draft, D.A.T., J.A.W., M.A.C., K.D., M.T.W., A.M.B., and A.M. Competing Interests The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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Klink PC, Teeuwen RRM, Lorteije JAM, Roelfsema PR. Inversion of pop-out for a distracting feature dimension in monkey visual cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2210839120. [PMID: 36812207 PMCID: PMC9992771 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210839120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
During visual search, it is important to reduce the interference of distracting objects in the scene. The neuronal responses elicited by the search target stimulus are typically enhanced. However, it is equally important to suppress the representations of distracting stimuli, especially if they are salient and capture attention. We trained monkeys to make an eye movement to a unique "pop-out" shape stimulus among an array of distracting stimuli. One of these distractors had a salient color that varied across trials and differed from the color of the other stimuli, causing it to also pop-out. The monkeys were able to select the pop-out shape target with high accuracy and actively avoided the pop-out color distractor. This behavioral pattern was reflected in the activity of neurons in area V4. Responses to the shape targets were enhanced, while the activity evoked by the pop-out color distractor was only briefly enhanced, directly followed by a sustained period of pronounced suppression. These behavioral and neuronal results demonstrate a cortical selection mechanism that rapidly inverts a pop-out signal to "pop-in" for an entire feature dimension thereby facilitating goal-directed visual search in the presence of salient distractors.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. Christiaan Klink
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, 3584 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Laboratory of Visual Brain Therapy, Sorbonne Université, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de la Vision, ParisF-75012, France
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Rob R. M. Teeuwen
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jeannette A. M. Lorteije
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Pieter R. Roelfsema
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Laboratory of Visual Brain Therapy, Sorbonne Université, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de la Vision, ParisF-75012, France
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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4
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Priming of probabilistic attentional templates. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:22-39. [PMID: 35831678 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02125-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Attentional priming has a dominating influence on vision, speeding visual search, releasing items from crowding, reducing masking effects, and during free-choice, primed targets are chosen over unprimed ones. Many accounts postulate that templates stored in working memory control what we attend to and mediate the priming. But what is the nature of these templates (or representations)? Analyses of real-world visual scenes suggest that tuning templates to exact color or luminance values would be impractical since those can vary greatly because of changes in environmental circumstances and perceptual interpretation. Tuning templates to a range of the most probable values would be more efficient. Recent evidence does indeed suggest that the visual system represents such probability, gradually encoding statistical variation in the environment through repeated exposure to input statistics. This is consistent with evidence from neurophysiology and theoretical neuroscience as well as computational evidence of probabilistic representations in visual perception. I argue that such probabilistic representations are the unit of attentional priming and that priming of, say, a repeated single-color value simply involves priming of a distribution with no variance. This "priming of probability" view can be modelled within a Bayesian framework where priming provides contextual priors. Priming can therefore be thought of as learning of the underlying probability density function of the target or distractor sets in a given continuous task.
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Herrera B, Westerberg JA, Schall MS, Maier A, Woodman GF, Schall JD, Riera JJ. Resolving the mesoscopic missing link: Biophysical modeling of EEG from cortical columns in primates. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119593. [PMID: 36031184 PMCID: PMC9968827 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Event-related potentials (ERP) are among the most widely measured indices for studying human cognition. While their timing and magnitude provide valuable insights, their usefulness is limited by our understanding of their neural generators at the circuit level. Inverse source localization offers insights into such generators, but their solutions are not unique. To address this problem, scientists have assumed the source space generating such signals comprises a set of discrete equivalent current dipoles, representing the activity of small cortical regions. Based on this notion, theoretical studies have employed forward modeling of scalp potentials to understand how changes in circuit-level dynamics translate into macroscopic ERPs. However, experimental validation is lacking because it requires in vivo measurements of intracranial brain sources. Laminar local field potentials (LFP) offer a mechanism for estimating intracranial current sources. Yet, a theoretical link between LFPs and intracranial brain sources is missing. Here, we present a forward modeling approach for estimating mesoscopic intracranial brain sources from LFPs and predict their contribution to macroscopic ERPs. We evaluate the accuracy of this LFP-based representation of brain sources utilizing synthetic laminar neurophysiological measurements and then demonstrate the power of the approach in vivo to clarify the source of a representative cognitive ERP component. To that end, LFP was measured across the cortical layers of visual area V4 in macaque monkeys performing an attention demanding task. We show that area V4 generates dipoles through layer-specific transsynaptic currents that biophysically recapitulate the ERP component through the detailed forward modeling. The constraints imposed on EEG production by this method also revealed an important dissociation between computational and biophysical contributors. As such, this approach represents an important bridge between laminar microcircuitry, through the mesoscopic activity of cortical columns to the patterns of EEG we measure at the scalp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Herrera
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, United States
| | - Jacob A. Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN 37240, United States,Corresponding author. (J.A. Westerberg)
| | - Michelle S. Schall
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN 37240, United States
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN 37240, United States
| | - Geoffrey F. Woodman
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, 301 Wilson Hall, Nashville, TN 37240, United States
| | - Jeffrey D. Schall
- Centre for Vision Research, Departments of Biology and Psychology, Vision: Science to Applications Program, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Jorge J. Riera
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, United States
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6
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Westerberg JA, Schall MS, Maier A, Woodman GF, Schall JD. Laminar microcircuitry of visual cortex producing attention-associated electric fields. eLife 2022; 11:72139. [PMID: 35089128 PMCID: PMC8846592 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive operations are widely studied by measuring electric fields through EEG and ECoG. However, despite their widespread use, the neural circuitry giving rise to these signals remains unknown because the functional architecture of cortical columns producing attention-associated electric fields has not been explored. Here, we detail the laminar cortical circuitry underlying an attention-associated electric field measured over posterior regions of the brain in humans and monkeys. First, we identified visual cortical area V4 as one plausible contributor to this attention-associated electric field through inverse modeling of cranial EEG in macaque monkeys performing a visual attention task. Next, we performed laminar neurophysiological recordings on the prelunate gyrus and identified the electric-field-producing dipoles as synaptic activity in distinct cortical layers of area V4. Specifically, activation in the extragranular layers of cortex resulted in the generation of the attention-associated dipole. Feature selectivity of a given cortical column determined the overall contribution to this electric field. Columns selective for the attended feature contributed more to the electric field than columns selective for a different feature. Last, the laminar profile of synaptic activity generated by V4 was sufficient to produce an attention-associated signal measurable outside of the column. These findings suggest that the top-down recipient cortical layers produce an attention-associated electric field that can be measured extracortically with the relative contribution of each column depending upon the underlying functional architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Michelle S Schall
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Geoffrey F Woodman
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
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Westerberg JA, Sigworth EA, Schall JD, Maier A. Pop-out search instigates beta-gated feature selectivity enhancement across V4 layers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2103702118. [PMID: 34893538 PMCID: PMC8685673 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2103702118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual search is a workhorse for investigating how attention interacts with processing of sensory information. Attentional selection has been linked to altered cortical sensory responses and feature preferences (i.e., tuning). However, attentional modulation of feature selectivity during search is largely unexplored. Here we map the spatiotemporal profile of feature selectivity during singleton search. Monkeys performed a search where a pop-out feature determined the target of attention. We recorded laminar neural responses from visual area V4. We first identified "feature columns" which showed preference for individual colors. In the unattended condition, feature columns were significantly more selective in superficial relative to middle and deep layers. Attending a stimulus increased selectivity in all layers but not equally. Feature selectivity increased most in the deep layers, leading to higher selectivity in extragranular layers as compared to the middle layer. This attention-induced enhancement was rhythmically gated in phase with the beta-band local field potential. Beta power dominated both extragranular laminar compartments, but current source density analysis pointed to an origin in superficial layers, specifically. While beta-band power was present regardless of attentional state, feature selectivity was only gated by beta in the attended condition. Neither the beta oscillation nor its gating of feature selectivity varied with microsaccade production. Importantly, beta modulation of neural activity predicted response times, suggesting a direct link between attentional gating and behavioral output. Together, these findings suggest beta-range synaptic activation in V4's superficial layers rhythmically gates attentional enhancement of feature tuning in a way that affects the speed of attentional selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240;
| | | | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Centre for Vision Research, Vision: Science to Applications Program, Department of Biology and Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240
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8
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Does feature intertrial priming guide attention? The jury is still out. Psychon Bull Rev 2021; 29:369-393. [PMID: 34625924 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-021-01997-8] [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] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Our search performance is strongly influenced by our past experience. In the lab, this influence has been demonstrated by investigating a variety of phenomena, including intertrial priming, statistical learning, and reward history, and collectively referred to as selection history. The resulting findings have led researchers to claim that selection history guides attention, thereby challenging the prevailing dichotomy, according to which top-down and bottom-up factors alone determine attentional priority. Here, we re-examine this claim with regard to one selection-history phenomenon, feature intertrial priming (aka priming of pop-out). We evaluate the evidence that specifically pertains to the role of feature intertrial priming in attentional guidance, rather than in later selective processes occurring after the target is found. We distinguish between the main experimental rationales, while considering the extent to which feature intertrial priming, as studied through different protocols, shares characteristics of top-down attention. We show that there is strong evidence that feature intertrial priming guides attention when the experimental protocol departs from the canonical paradigm and encourages observers to maintain the critical feature in visual working memory or to form expectations about the upcoming target. By contrast, the current evidence regarding the standard feature intertrial priming phenomenon is inconclusive. We propose directions for future research and suggest that applying the methodology used here in order to re-evaluate of the role of other selection history phenomena in attentional guidance should clarify the mechanisms underlying the strong impact of past experience on visual search performance.
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9
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Schmitt C, Schwenk JCB, Schütz A, Churan J, Kaminiarz A, Bremmer F. Preattentive processing of visually guided self-motion in humans and monkeys. Prog Neurobiol 2021; 205:102117. [PMID: 34224808 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.102117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The visually-based control of self-motion is a challenging task, requiring - if needed - immediate adjustments to keep on track. Accordingly, it would appear advantageous if the processing of self-motion direction (heading) was predictive, thereby accelerating the encoding of unexpected changes, and un-impaired by attentional load. We tested this hypothesis by recording EEG in humans and macaque monkeys with similar experimental protocols. Subjects viewed a random dot pattern simulating self-motion across a ground plane in an oddball EEG paradigm. Standard and deviant trials differed only in their simulated heading direction (forward-left vs. forward-right). Event-related potentials (ERPs) were compared in order to test for the occurrence of a visual mismatch negativity (vMMN), a component that reflects preattentive and likely also predictive processing of sensory stimuli. Analysis of the ERPs revealed signatures of a prediction mismatch for deviant stimuli in both humans and monkeys. In humans, a MMN was observed starting 110 ms after self-motion onset. In monkeys, peak response amplitudes following deviant stimuli were enhanced compared to the standard already 100 ms after self-motion onset. We consider our results strong evidence for a preattentive processing of visual self-motion information in humans and monkeys, allowing for ultrafast adjustments of their heading direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constanze Schmitt
- Dept. Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen, Germany.
| | - Jakob C B Schwenk
- Dept. Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen, Germany.
| | - Adrian Schütz
- Dept. Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen, Germany.
| | - Jan Churan
- Dept. Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen, Germany.
| | - André Kaminiarz
- Dept. Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen, Germany.
| | - Frank Bremmer
- Dept. Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen, Germany.
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10
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Abstract
Selective attention affords scrutinizing items in our environment. However, attentional selection changes over time and across space. Empirically, repetition of visual search conditions changes attentional processing. Priming of pop-out is a vivid example. Repeatedly searching for the same pop-out search feature is accomplished with faster response times and fewer errors. We review the psychophysical background of priming of pop-out, focusing on the hypothesis that it arises through changes in visual selective attention. We also describe research done with macaque monkeys to understand the neural mechanisms supporting visual selective attention and priming of pop-out, and survey research on priming of pop-out using noninvasive brain measures with humans. We conclude by hypothesizing three alternative neural mechanisms and highlighting open questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
| | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
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11
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Tovar DA, Westerberg JA, Cox MA, Dougherty K, Carlson TA, Wallace MT, Maier A. Stimulus Feature-Specific Information Flow Along the Columnar Cortical Microcircuit Revealed by Multivariate Laminar Spiking Analysis. Front Syst Neurosci 2020; 14:600601. [PMID: 33328912 PMCID: PMC7734135 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.600601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Most of the mammalian neocortex is comprised of a highly similar anatomical structure, consisting of a granular cell layer between superficial and deep layers. Even so, different cortical areas process different information. Taken together, this suggests that cortex features a canonical functional microcircuit that supports region-specific information processing. For example, the primate primary visual cortex (V1) combines the two eyes' signals, extracts stimulus orientation, and integrates contextual information such as visual stimulation history. These processes co-occur during the same laminar stimulation sequence that is triggered by the onset of visual stimuli. Yet, we still know little regarding the laminar processing differences that are specific to each of these types of stimulus information. Univariate analysis techniques have provided great insight by examining one electrode at a time or by studying average responses across multiple electrodes. Here we focus on multivariate statistics to examine response patterns across electrodes instead. Specifically, we applied multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to linear multielectrode array recordings of laminar spiking responses to decode information regarding the eye-of-origin, stimulus orientation, and stimulus repetition. MVPA differs from conventional univariate approaches in that it examines patterns of neural activity across simultaneously recorded electrode sites. We were curious whether this added dimensionality could reveal neural processes on the population level that are challenging to detect when measuring brain activity without the context of neighboring recording sites. We found that eye-of-origin information was decodable for the entire duration of stimulus presentation, but diminished in the deepest layers of V1. Conversely, orientation information was transient and equally pronounced along all layers. More importantly, using time-resolved MVPA, we were able to evaluate laminar response properties beyond those yielded by univariate analyses. Specifically, we performed a time generalization analysis by training a classifier at one point of the neural response and testing its performance throughout the remaining period of stimulation. Using this technique, we demonstrate repeating (reverberating) patterns of neural activity that have not previously been observed using standard univariate approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Tovar
- Neuroscience Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Jacob A. Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Michele A. Cox
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
| | - Kacie Dougherty
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States
| | | | - Mark T. Wallace
- School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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12
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Westerberg JA, Maier A, Schall JD. Priming of Attentional Selection in Macaque Visual Cortex: Feature-Based Facilitation and Location-Based Inhibition of Return. eNeuro 2020; 7:ENEURO.0466-19.2020. [PMID: 32229500 PMCID: PMC7189490 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0466-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual search performance varies with stimulus and response history. Priming of pop-out refers to increased accuracy and reduced response time with repeated presentation of particular singleton and distractor features (e.g., a red target among green distractor stimuli), which are abruptly impaired when singleton and distractor features swap (e.g., green target among red distractors). Meanwhile, inhibition of return refers to the slowing of response time when target location repeats. Neurophysiological correlates of both these phenomena have been reported in the frontal eye field (FEF), an area in the frontal lobe contributing to attentional selection and eye movement planning. To understand the mechanistic origin of these adaptive behaviors, we investigated visual cortical area V4, an area providing input to and receiving feedback from FEF, during feature-based priming of pop-out and location-based inhibition of return. Performing a color pop-out task, monkeys exhibited pronounced priming of pop-out and inhibition of return. Neural spiking from V4 revealed earlier target selection associated with priming of pop-out and delayed selection associated with inhibition of return. These results demonstrate substantial involvement of extrastriate visual cortex in behavioral priming and inhibition of return.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
| | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, College of Arts and Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
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