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Chen L, Wu B, Yu H, Sperandio I. Network dynamics underlying alterations in apparent object size. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae006. [PMID: 38250057 PMCID: PMC10799746 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
A target circle surrounded by small circles looks larger than an identical circle surrounded by large circles (termed as the Ebbinghaus illusion). While previous research has shown that both early and high-level visual regions are involved in the generation of the illusion, it remains unclear how these regions work together to modulate the illusion effect. Here, we used functional MRI and dynamic causal modelling to investigate the neural networks underlying the illusion in conditions where the focus of attention was manipulated via participants directing their attention to and maintain fixation on only one of the two illusory configurations at a time. Behavioural findings confirmed the presence of the illusion. Accordingly, functional MRI activity in the extrastriate cortex accounted for the illusory effects: apparently larger circles elicited greater activation than apparently smaller circles. Interestingly, this spread of activity for size overestimation was accompanied by a decrease in the inhibitory self-connection in the extrastriate region, and an increase in the feedback connectivity from the precuneus to the extrastriate region. These findings demonstrate that the representation of apparent object size relies on feedback projections from higher- to lower-level visual areas, highlighting the crucial role of top-down signals in conscious visual perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihong Chen
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian 116029, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Baoyu Wu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian 116029, Liaoning Province, China
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Haoyang Yu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalian 116029, Liaoning Province, China
| | - Irene Sperandio
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto 38068, Italy
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Yu H, Chen S, Ye Z, Zhang Q, Tu Y, Hua T. Top-down influence of areas 21a and 7 differently affects the surround suppression of V1 neurons in cats. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:11047-11059. [PMID: 37724432 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad344] [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: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Surround suppression (SS) is a phenomenon whereby a neuron's response to stimuli in its central receptive field (cRF) is suppressed by stimuli extending to its surround receptive field (sRF). Recent evidence show that top-down influence contributed to SS in the primary visual cortex (V1). However, how the top-down influence from different high-level cortical areas affects SS in V1 has not been comparatively observed. The present study applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to modulate the neural activity in area 21a (A21a) and area 7 (A7) of cats and examined the changes in the cRF and sRF of V1 neurons. We found that anode-tDCS at A21a reduced V1 neurons' cRF size and increased their response to visual stimuli in cRF, causing an improved SS strength. By contrast, anode-tDCS at A7 increased V1 neurons' sRF size and response to stimuli in cRF, also enhancing the SS. Modeling analysis based on DoG function indicated that the increased SS of V1 neurons after anode-tDCS at A21a could be explained by a center-only mechanism, whereas the improved SS after anode-tDCS at A7 might be mediated through a combined center and surround mechanism. In conclusion, A21a and A7 may affect the SS of V1 neurons through different mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Beijing East Road, Jinghu District, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wannan Medical College, West Wenchang Road, Yijiang District, Wuhu, Anhui, China
| | - Shunshun Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Beijing East Road, Jinghu District, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
| | - Zheng Ye
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Beijing East Road, Jinghu District, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
| | - Qiuyu Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Beijing East Road, Jinghu District, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
| | - Yanni Tu
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Beijing East Road, Jinghu District, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
| | - Tianmiao Hua
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Beijing East Road, Jinghu District, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China
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Kütük B, Aslan A, Aytemur A. Visual context processing and its development in gamers and non-gamers. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13268. [PMID: 35398965 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Visual context processing was investigated in both action video game players and nonplayers using the Ebbinghaus illusion task (N = 312, 39.4% female) in a cross-sectional study design. When presented in context, players showed markedly poorer target size discrimination accuracy compared with nonplayers in the 6-, 7-, 8-, and 9-years old age groups, but this difference was reduced in 10-years old group and diminished in adults. When presented in isolation (no-context), the two groups displayed similar performance in all age groups. Furthermore, nonplayers (linear) and players (bell curve) showed profoundly different age-related differences in context processing. These findings provide evidence that players might have enhanced perceptual bias to process visual context in the transition from early childhood to early adolescence, and the differences between the two groups start at early ages and continue with distinct developmental profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bahtım Kütük
- Department of Psychology, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Aslı Aslan
- Department of Psychology, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey
| | - Ali Aytemur
- Department of Psychology, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey
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Hu X, Feng B, Chen L, Luo W. Threat shapes visual context sensitivity selectively through low-spatial-frequency channels. Cognition 2023; 230:105305. [PMID: 36228380 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Threat has long been supposed to affect human cognitive processing including visual size perception. Whether such threat-related modulation effect varies as a function of spatial frequency is largely unexplored. Here we used low- or high-pass filtered threatening animal and fearful face images as primes and measured their effects on the processing of the Ebbinghaus illusion. Results showed that threatening-animal primes relative to neutral ones significantly decreased the illusion magnitude in low-spatial-frequency rather than in high-spatial-frequency ranges. However, fearful- and neutral-face primes had a comparable effect on the illusion magnitude in both spatial frequency ranges. Notably, when inhibitory transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to the left temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), fearful-face primes significantly decreased the illusion magnitude in low-spatial-frequency rather than in high-spatial-frequency ranges. However, the opposite pattern of results was observed with right TPJ stimulation. The findings suggest that threat shapes basic aspects of visual perception in a spatial frequency-specific manner, possibly via magnocellular projections from both subcortical and cortical fear-processing systems to early visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuhua Hu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, PR China
| | - Bengang Feng
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, PR China
| | - Lihong Chen
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, PR China.
| | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, PR China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, PR China.
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Wu B, Feng B, Han X, Chen L, Luo W. Intrinsic excitability of human right parietal cortex shapes the experienced visual size illusions. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:6345-6353. [PMID: 36562991 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Converging evidence has found that the perceived visual size illusions are heritable, raising the possibility that visual size illusions might be predicted by intrinsic brain activity without external stimuli. Here we measured resting-state brain activity and 2 classic visual size illusions (i.e. the Ebbinghaus and the Ponzo illusions) in succession, and conducted spectral dynamic causal modeling analysis among relevant cortical regions. Results revealed that forward connection from right V1 to superior parietal lobule (SPL) was predictive of the Ebbinghaus illusion, and self-connection in the right SPL predicted the Ponzo illusion. Moreover, disruption of intrinsic activity in the right SPL by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) temporally increased the Ebbinghaus rather than the Ponzo illusion. These findings provide a better mechanistic understanding of visual size illusions by showing the causal and distinct contributions of right parietal cortex to them, and suggest that spontaneous fluctuations in intrinsic brain activity are relevant to individual difference in behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baoyu Wu
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, P. R. China.,Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, P. R. China
| | - Bengang Feng
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, P. R. China
| | - Xue Han
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, P. R. China
| | - Lihong Chen
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, P. R. China
| | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, P. R. China
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Chen L, Zhu S, Feng B, Zhang X, Jiang Y. Altered effective connectivity between lateral occipital cortex and superior parietal lobule contributes to manipulability-related modulation of the Ebbinghaus illusion. Cortex 2022; 147:194-205. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Chen L, Xu Q, Shen L, Yuan T, Wang Y, Zhou W, Jiang Y. Distinct Contributions of Genes and Environment to Visual Size Illusion and the Underlying Neural Mechanism. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:1014-1023. [PMID: 34379728 PMCID: PMC8889949 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
As exemplified by the Ebbinghaus illusion, the perceived size of an object can be significantly biased by its surrounding context. The phenomenon is experienced by humans as well as other species, hence likely evolutionarily adaptive. Here, we examined the heritability of the Ebbinghaus illusion using a combination of the classic twin method and multichannel functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Results show that genes account for over 50% of the variance in the strength of the experienced illusion. Interestingly, activations evoked by the Ebbinghaus stimuli in the early visual cortex are explained by genetic factors whereas those in the posterior temporal cortex are explained by environmental factors. In parallel, the feedforward functional connectivity between the occipital cortex and the temporal cortex is modulated by genetic effects whereas the feedback functional connectivity is entirely shaped by environment, despite both being significantly correlated with the strength of the experienced illusion. These findings demonstrate that genetic and environmental factors work in tandem to shape the context-dependent visual size illusion, and shed new light on the links among genes, environment, brain, and subjective experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihong Chen
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, P.R. China.,Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian 116029, P.R. China.,State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China
| | - Qian Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, P.R. China
| | - Li Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, P.R. China
| | - Tian Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, P.R. China
| | - Ying Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, P.R. China
| | - Wen Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, P.R. China
| | - Yi Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, P.R. China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China.,Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, P.R. China.,Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei 230088, P.R. China
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