White matter BOLD signals at 7 Tesla reveal visual field maps in optic radiation and vertical occipital fasciculus

There is growing evidence that blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activity in the white matter (WM) can be detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, the functional relevance and significance of WM BOLD signals remain controversial. Here we investigated whether 7T BOLD fMRI can reveal fine-scale functional organizations of a WM bundle. Population receptive field (pRF) analyses of the 7T retinotopy dataset from the Human Connectome Project revealed clear contralateral retinotopic organizations of two visual WM bundles: the optic radiation (OR) and the vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF). The retinotopic maps of OR are highly consistent with post-mortem dissections and diffusion tractographies, while the VOF maps are compatible with the dorsal and ventral visual areas connected by the WM. Similar to the grey matter (GM) visual areas, both WM bundles show over-representations of the central visual field and increasing pRF size with eccentricity. Hemodynamic response functions of visual WM were slower and wider compared with those of GM areas. These findings clearly demonstrate that WM BOLD at 7 Tesla is closely coupled with neural activity related to axons, encoding highly specific information that can be used to characterize fine-scale functional organizations of a WM bundle.

Evaluating the efficacy of multi-echo ICA denoising on model-based fMRI

fMRI is an indispensable tool for neuroscience investigation, but this technique is limited by multiple sources of physiological and measurement noise. These noise sources are particularly problematic for analysis techniques that require high signal-to-noise ratio for stable model fitting, such as voxel-wise modeling. Multi-echo data acquisition in combination with echo-time dependent ICA denoising (ME-ICA) represents one promising strategy to mitigate physiological and hardware-related noise sources as well as motion-related artifacts. However, most studies employing ME-ICA to date are resting-state fMRI studies, and therefore we have a limited understanding of the impact of ME-ICA on complex task or model-based fMRI paradigms. Here, we addressed this knowledge gap by comparing data quality and model fitting performance of data acquired during a visual population receptive field (pRF) mapping (N = 13 participants) experiment after applying one of three preprocessing procedures: ME-ICA, optimally combined multi-echo data without ICA-denoising, and typical single echo processing. As expected, multi-echo fMRI improved temporal signal-to-noise compared to single echo fMRI, with ME-ICA amplifying the improvement compared to optimal combination alone. However, unexpectedly, this boost in temporal signal-to-noise did not directly translate to improved model fitting performance: compared to single echo acquisition, model fitting was only improved after ICA-denoising. Specifically, compared to single echo acquisition, ME-ICA resulted in improved variance explained by our pRF model throughout the visual system, including anterior regions of the temporal and parietal lobes where SNR is typically low, while optimal combination without ICA did not. ME-ICA also improved reliability of parameter estimates compared to single echo and optimally combined multi-echo data without ICA-denoising. Collectively, these results suggest that ME-ICA is effective for denoising task-based fMRI data for modeling analyzes and maintains the integrity of the original data. Therefore, ME-ICA may be beneficial for complex fMRI experiments, including voxel-wise modeling and naturalistic paradigms.

On the cortical mapping function - Visual space, cortical space, and crowding

The retino-cortical visual pathway is retinotopically organized: Neighbourhood relationships on the retina are preserved in the mapping. Size relationships in that mapping are also highly regular: The size of a patch in the visual field that maps onto a cortical patch of fixed size follows, along any radius and over a wide range, simply a linear function with retinal eccentricity. As a consequence, the mapping of retinal to cortical locations follows a logarithmic function along that radius. While this has already been shown by Fischer (1973, Vision Research, 13, 2113-2120), the link between the linear function - which describes the local behaviour by the cortical magnification factor M - and the logarithmic location function for the global behaviour, has never been made explicit. The present paper provides such a link as a set of ready-to-use equations using Levi and Klein's E₂ nomenclature, and examples for their validity and applicability in the mapping literature are discussed. The equations allow estimating M in the retinotopic centre; values thus derived from the literature show enormous, hitherto unnoticed, variability. A new structural parameter, d₂, is proposed to characterize the cortical map, as a counterpart to E₂; it shows much more stability. One pitfall is discussed and spelt out, namely the common myth that a pure logarithmic function, without constant term, will give an adequate map. The correct equations are finally extended to describe the cortical map of Bouma's law on visual crowding. The result contradicts recent suggestions that critical crowding distance corresponds to constant cortical distance.

Prosomeric classification of retinorecipient centers: a new causal scenario

The retina is known to target many superficial areas in the brain. These have always been studied under the tenets of the classic columnar brain model, which was not designed to produce causal explanations, being functionally oriented. This has led over the years to a remarkable absence of understanding or even hypothetical thinking about why the optic tract takes its precise course, why there are so many retinal targets (some of them at surprising sites), what mechanism places each one of them exactly at its standard position, which processes specify spatial aspects of retinotopy and differential physiological properties within the visual system, and so on, including questions about conserved and changing evolutionary aspects of the visual structures. The author posits that the origin of the current causally uninformative state of the field is the columnar model, which worked as a subliminal or cryptic dogma that disregards the molecular developmental advances accruing during the last 40 years, and in general distracts the attention of neuroscientists from causal approaches. There is now an alternative brain model, known as the prosomeric model, that does not have these problems. The author aims to show that once the data on retinal projections are mapped and analyzed within the prosomeric model the scenario changes drastically and multiple opportunities for formulating hypotheses for causal explanation of any aspects about the visual projections become apparent (emphasis is made on mouse and rabbit data, but any set of data on retinal projections in vertebrates can be used, as shown in some examples).

Cross-dataset reproducibility of human retinotopic maps

Population receptive field (pRF) models fit to fMRI data are used to non-invasively measure retinotopic maps in human visual cortex, and these maps are a fundamental component of visual neuroscience experiments. Here, we examined the reproducibility of retinotopic maps across two datasets: a newly acquired retinotopy dataset from New York University (NYU) (n = 44) and a public dataset from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) (n = 181). Our goal was to assess the degree to which pRF properties are similar across datasets, despite substantial differences in their experimental protocols. The two datasets simultaneously differ in their stimulus apertures, participant pool, fMRI protocol, MRI field strength, and preprocessing pipeline. We assessed the cross-dataset reproducibility of the two datasets in terms of the similarity of vertex-wise pRF estimates and in terms of large-scale polar angle asymmetries in cortical magnification. Within V1, V2, V3, and hV4, the group-median NYU and HCP vertex-wise polar angle estimates were nearly identical. Both eccentricity and pRF size estimates were also strongly correlated between the two datasets, but with a slope different from 1; the eccentricity and pRF size estimates were systematically greater in the NYU data. Next, to compare large-scale map properties, we quantified two polar angle asymmetries in V1 cortical magnification previously identified in the HCP data. The NYU dataset confirms earlier reports that more cortical surface area represents horizontal than vertical visual field meridian, and lower than upper vertical visual field meridian. Together, our findings show that the retinotopic properties of V1, V2, V3, and hV4 can be reliably measured across two datasets, despite numerous differences in their experimental design. fMRI-derived retinotopic maps are reproducible because they rely on an explicit computational model of the fMRI response. In the case of pRF mapping, the model is grounded in physiological evidence of how visual receptive fields are organized, allowing one to quantitatively characterize the BOLD signal in terms of stimulus properties (i.e., location and size). The new NYU Retinotopy Dataset will serve as a useful benchmark for testing hypotheses about the organization of visual areas and for comparison to the HCP 7T Retinotopy Dataset.

Direct comparison of contralateral bias and face/scene selectivity in human occipitotemporal cortex

Human visual cortex is organised broadly according to two major principles: retinotopy (the spatial mapping of the retina in cortex) and category-selectivity (preferential responses to specific categories of stimuli). Historically, these principles were considered anatomically separate, with retinotopy restricted to the occipital cortex and category-selectivity emerging in the lateral-occipital and ventral-temporal cortex. However, recent studies show that category-selective regions exhibit systematic retinotopic biases, for example exhibiting stronger activation for stimuli presented in the contra- compared to the ipsilateral visual field. It is unclear, however, whether responses within category-selective regions are more strongly driven by retinotopic location or by category preference, and if there are systematic differences between category-selective regions in the relative strengths of these preferences. Here, we directly compare contralateral and category preferences by measuring fMRI responses to scene and face stimuli presented in the left or right visual field and computing two bias indices: a contralateral bias (response to the contralateral minus ipsilateral visual field) and a face/scene bias (preferred response to scenes compared to faces, or vice versa). We compare these biases within and between scene- and face-selective regions and across the lateral and ventral surfaces of the visual cortex more broadly. We find an interaction between surface and bias: lateral surface regions show a stronger contralateral than face/scene bias, whilst ventral surface regions show the opposite. These effects are robust across and within subjects, and appear to reflect large-scale, smoothly varying gradients. Together, these findings support distinct functional roles for the lateral and ventral visual cortex in terms of the relative importance of the spatial location of stimuli during visual information processing.

Common functional localizers to enhance NHP & cross-species neuroscience imaging research

Functional localizers are invaluable as they can help define regions of interest, provide cross-study comparisons, and most importantly, allow for the aggregation and meta-analyses of data across studies and laboratories. To achieve these goals within the non-human primate (NHP) imaging community, there is a pressing need for the use of standardized and validated localizers that can be readily implemented across different groups. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the value of localizer protocols to imaging research and we describe a number of commonly used or novel localizers within NHPs, and keys to implement them across studies. As has been shown with the aggregation of resting-state imaging data in the original PRIME-DE submissions, we believe that the field is ready to apply the same initiative for task-based functional localizers in NHP imaging. By coming together to collect large datasets across research group, implementing the same functional localizers, and sharing the localizers and data via PRIME-DE, it is now possible to fully test their robustness, selectivity and specificity. To do this, we reviewed a number of common localizers and we created a repository of well-established localizer that are easily accessible and implemented through the PRIME-RE platform.

Combining stimulus types for improved coverage in population receptive field mapping

Retinotopy experiments using population receptive field (pRF) mapping are ideal for assigning regions in the visual field to cortical brain areas. While various designs for visual stimulation were suggested in the literature, all have specific shortcomings regarding visual field coverage. Here we acquired high-resolution 7 Tesla fMRI data to compare pRF-based coverage maps obtained with the two most commonly used stimulus variants: moving bars; rotating wedges and expanding rings. We find that stimulus selection biases the spatial distribution of pRF centres. In addition, eccentricity values and pRF sizes obtained from wedge/ring or bar stimulation runs show systematic differences. Wedge/ring stimulation results show lower eccentricity values and strongly reduced pRF sizes compared to bar stimulation runs. Statistical comparison shows significantly higher pRF centre numbers in the foveal 2° region of the visual field for wedge/ring compared to bar stimuli. We suggest and evaluate approaches for combining pRF data from different visual stimulus patterns to obtain improved mapping results.

Decoding visual information from high-density diffuse optical tomography neuroimaging data

Background:

Neural decoding could be useful in many ways, from serving as a neuroscience research tool to providing a means of augmented communication for patients with neurological conditions. However, applications of decoding are currently constrained by the limitations of traditional neuroimaging modalities. Electrocorticography requires invasive neurosurgery, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is too cumbersome for uses like daily communication, and alternatives like functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) offer poor image quality. High-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) is an emerging modality that uses denser optode arrays than fNIRS to combine logistical advantages of optical neuroimaging with enhanced image quality. Despite the resulting promise of HD-DOT for facilitating field applications of neuroimaging, decoding of brain activity as measured by HD-DOT has yet to be evaluated.

Objective:

To assess the feasibility and performance of decoding with HD-DOT in visual cortex.

Methods and Results:

To establish the feasibility of decoding at the single-trial level with HD-DOT, a template matching strategy was used to decode visual stimulus position. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to quantify the sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of binary visual decoding. Mean areas under the curve (AUCs) greater than 0.97 across 10 imaging sessions in a highly sampled participant were observed. ROC analyses of decoding across 5 participants established both reproducibility in multiple individuals and the feasibility of inter-individual decoding (mean AUCs > 0.7), although decoding performance varied between individuals. Phase-encoded checkerboard stimuli were used to assess more complex, non-binary decoding with HD-DOT. Across 3 highly sampled participants, the phase of a 60° wide checkerboard wedge rotating 10° per second through 360° was decoded with a within-participant error of 25.8±24.7°. Decoding between participants was also feasible based on permutation-based significance testing.

Conclusions:

Visual stimulus information can be decoded accurately, reproducibly, and across a range of detail (for both binary and non-binary outcomes) at the single-trial level (without needing to block-average test data) using HD-DOT data. These results lay the foundation for future studies of more complex decoding with HD-DOT and applications in clinical populations.

Foveal pRF properties in the visual cortex depend on the extent of stimulated visual field

Previous studies demonstrated that alterations in functional MRI derived receptive field (pRF) properties in cortical projection zones of retinal lesions can erroneously be mistaken for cortical large-scale reorganization in response to visual system pathologies. We tested, whether such confounds are also evident in the normal cortical projection zone of the fovea for simulated peripheral visual field defects. We applied fMRI-based visual field mapping of the central visual field at 3 T in eight controls to compare the pRF properties of the central visual field of a reference condition (stimulus radius: 14°) and two conditions with simulated peripheral visual field defect, i.e., with a peripheral gray mask, stimulating only the central 7° or 4° radius. We quantified, for the cortical representation of the actually stimulated visual field, the changes in the position and size of the pRFs associated with reduced peripheral stimulation using conventional and advanced pRF modeling. We found foveal pRF-positions (≤3°) to be significantly shifted towards the periphery (p<0.05, corrected). These pRF-shifts were largest for the 4° condition [visual area (mean eccentricity shift): V1 (0.9°), V2 (0.9°), V3 (1.0°)], but also evident for the 7° condition [V1 (0.5°), V2 (0.5°), V3 (0.9°)]. Further, an overall enlargement of pRF-sizes was observed. These findings indicate the dependence of foveal pRF parameters on the spatial extent of the stimulated visual field and are likely associated with methodological biases and/or physiological mechanisms. Consequently, our results imply that, previously reported similar findings in patients with actual peripheral scotomas need to be interpreted with caution and indicate the need for adequate control conditions in investigations of visual cortex reorganization.

Gradients of functional organization in posterior parietal cortex revealed by visual attention, visual short-term memory, and intrinsic functional connectivity

Visual attention and visual working memory tasks recruit a common network of lateral frontal cortical (LFC) and posterior parietal cortical (PPC) regions. Here, we examine finer-scale organization of this frontoparietal network. Three LFC regions recruited by visual cognition tasks, superior precentral sulcus (sPCS), inferior precentral sulcus (iPCS), and mid inferior frontal sulcus (midIFS) exhibit differential patterns of resting-state functional connectivity to PPC. A broad dorsomedial to ventrolateral gradient is observed, with sPCS connectivity dominating in the dorsomedial PPC band, iPCS dominating in the middle band, and midIFS dominating in the ventrolateral band. These connectivity-defined subregions of PPC capture differential task activation between a pair of visual attention and working memory tasks. The relative functional connectivity of sPCS and iPCS also varies along the rostral-caudal axis of the retinotopic regions of PPC. iPCS connectivity is relatively stronger near the IPS0/IPS1 and IPS2/IPS3 borders, especially on the lateral portions of these borders, which each preferentially encode central visual field representations. In contrast, sPCS connectivity is relatively stronger elsewhere in retinotopic IPS regions which preferentially encode peripheral visual field representations. These findings reveal fine-scale gradients in functional connectivity within the frontoparietal visual network that capture a high-degree of specificity in PPC functional organization.

Grey-Matter Thickness of the Left But Not the Right Primary Visual Area Correlates with Autism Traits in Typically Developing Adults

We examined whether functional and structural variability in the primary visual area (V1) correlated with autism traits. Twenty-nine participants (16 males; M_Age = 26.4 years, SD_Age = 4.0 years) completed the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) questionnaire prior to a magnetic resonance imaging session. The total AQ scores was used to assess the degree of self-reported autism traits. The average functional activation in V1 to visual stimulation and its average grey-matter thickness were calculated. There were no correlations between functional activation in V1 and autism traits. Conversely, grey-matter thickness of the left but not the right V1 correlated with autism traits. We conclude that structural changes in the left V1 could be a marker for the presence of autism traits.

[Comparison of visual and auditory pathway]

Humans receive information from their environment via the visual and auditory systems. This information protects us from dangers and guarantees vital actions, such as social interaction, locomotion, work processes and nutrition. The most important anatomical and functional features of these two sensory systems are compared and elucidated with respect to their interaction/functional complementarity. For this purpose, a selective literature search was carried out in the databases PubMed (also in the Europe PubMed Central), Psychline, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. Additional information was obtained from relevant books and websites in the fields of (neuro)anatomy, (neuro)physiology, (neuro)ophthalmology and (neuro)otology. Search terms were Hörbahn, Sehbahn, visual system, auditory system, visual pathway, auditory pathway, receptors, spatial hearing, spatial cognition, auditory cognition and visual cognition.

Triple visual hemifield maps in a case of optic chiasm hypoplasia

In humans, each hemisphere comprises an overlay of two visuotopic maps of the contralateral visual field, one from each eye. Is the capacity of the visual cortex limited to these two maps or are plastic mechanisms available to host more maps? We determined the cortical organization of the visual field maps in a rare individual with chiasma hypoplasia, where visual cortex plasticity is challenged to accommodate three hemifield maps. Using high-resolution fMRI at 7T and diffusion-weighted MRI at 3T, we found three hemiretinal inputs, instead of the normal two, to converge onto the left hemisphere. fMRI-based population receptive field mapping of the left V1-V3 at 3T revealed three superimposed hemifield representations in the left visual cortex, i.e. two representations of opposing visual hemifields from the left eye and one right hemifield representation from the right eye. We conclude that developmental plasticity including the re-wiring of local intra- and cortico-cortical connections is pivotal to support the coexistence and functioning of three hemifield maps within one hemisphere.

Population receptive field tuning properties of visual cortex during childhood

Visuospatial abilities such as contrast sensitivity and Vernier acuity improve until late in childhood, but the neural mechanisms supporting these changes are poorly understood. We tested to which extent this development might reflect improved spatial sensitivity of neuronal populations in visual cortex. To do this, we measured BOLD-responses in areas V1-V4 and V3a, whilst 6- to 12-year-old children and adults watched large-field wedge and ring stimuli in the MRI scanner, and then fitted population receptive field (pRF) tuning functions to these data (Dumoulin and Wandell, 2008). Cortical magnification and pRF tuning width changed with eccentricity at all ages, as expected. However, there were no significant age differences in pRF size, shape, cortical magnification, or map consistency in any visual region. These findings thus strongly suggest that spatial vision in late childhood is not substantially limited by the spatial tuning of neuronal populations in early visual cortex. Instead, improvements in performance may reflect more efficient read-out of spatial information in early visual regions by higher-level processing stages, or prolonged tuning to more complex visual properties such as orientation. Importantly, this in-depth characterisation of the pRF tuning profiles across childhood, paves the way for in-vivo-testing of atypical visual cortex development and plasticity.

Tracking and validation techniques for topographically organized tractography

Topographic regularity of axonal connections is commonly understood as the preservation of spatial relationships between nearby neurons and is a fundamental structural property of the brain. In particular the retinotopic mapping of the visual pathway can even be quantitatively computed. Inspired from this previously untapped anatomical knowledge, we propose a novel tractography method that preserves both topographic and geometric regularity. We make use of parameterized curves with Frenet-Serret frame and introduce a highly flexible mechanism for controlling geometric regularity. At the same time, we incorporate a novel local data support term in order to account for topographic organization. Unifying geometry with topographic regularity, we develop a Bayesian framework for generating highly organized streamlines that accurately follow neuroanatomy. We additionally propose two novel validation techniques to quantify topographic regularity. In our experiments, we studied the results of our approach with respect to connectivity, reproducibility and topographic regularity aspects. We present both qualitative and quantitative comparisons of our technique against three algorithms from MRtrix3. We show that our method successfully generates highly organized fiber tracks while capturing bundle anatomy that are geometrically challenging for other approaches.

A cross-validated cytoarchitectonic atlas of the human ventral visual stream

The human ventral visual stream consists of several areas that are considered processing stages essential for perception and recognition. A fundamental microanatomical feature differentiating areas is cytoarchitecture, which refers to the distribution, size, and density of cells across cortical layers. Because cytoarchitectonic structure is measured in 20-micron-thick histological slices of postmortem tissue, it is difficult to assess (a) how anatomically consistent these areas are across brains and (b) how they relate to brain parcellations obtained with prevalent neuroimaging methods, acquired at the millimeter and centimeter scale. Therefore, the goal of this study was to (a) generate a cross-validated cytoarchitectonic atlas of the human ventral visual stream on a whole brain template that is commonly used in neuroimaging studies and (b) to compare this atlas to a recently published retinotopic parcellation of visual cortex (Wang et al., 2014). To achieve this goal, we generated an atlas of eight cytoarchitectonic areas: four areas in the occipital lobe (hOc1-hOc4v) and four in the fusiform gyrus (FG1-FG4), then we tested how the different alignment techniques affect the accuracy of the resulting atlas. Results show that both cortex-based alignment (CBA) and nonlinear volumetric alignment (NVA) generate an atlas with better cross-validation performance than affine volumetric alignment (AVA). Additionally, CBA outperformed NVA in 6/8 of the cytoarchitectonic areas. Finally, the comparison of the cytoarchitectonic atlas to a retinotopic atlas shows a clear correspondence between cytoarchitectonic and retinotopic areas in the ventral visual stream. The successful performance of CBA suggests a coupling between cytoarchitectonic areas and macroanatomical landmarks in the human ventral visual stream, and furthermore, that this coupling can be utilized for generating an accurate group atlas. In addition, the coupling between cytoarchitecture and retinotopy highlights the potential use of this atlas in understanding how anatomical features contribute to brain function. We make this cytoarchitectonic atlas freely available in both BrainVoyager and FreeSurfer formats (http://vpnl.stanford.edu/vcAtlas). The availability of this atlas will enable future studies to link cytoarchitectonic organization to other parcellations of the human ventral visual stream with potential to advance the understanding of this pathway in typical and atypical populations.

A multi-variate blind source separation algorithm

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The study follows the proposal of decomposing a given data matrix into a product of independent spatial and temporal component matrices. A multi-variate decomposition approach is presented, based on an approximate diagonalization of a set of matrices computed using a latent space representation.

METHODS

The proposed methodology follows an algebraic approach, which is common to space, temporal or spatiotemporal blind source separation algorithms. More specifically, the algebraic approach relies on singular value decomposition techniques, which avoids computationally costly and numerically instable matrix inversion. The method is equally applicable to correlation matrices determined from second order correlations or by considering fourth order correlations.

RESULTS

The resulting algorithms are applied to fMRI data sets either to extract the underlying fMRI components or to extract connectivity maps from resting state fMRI data collected for a dynamic functional connectivity analysis. Intriguingly, our algorithm shows increased spatial specificity compared to common approaches, while temporal precision stays similar.

CONCLUSION

The study presents a novel spatiotemporal blind source separation algorithm, which is both robust and avoids parameters that are difficult to fine tune. Applied on experimental data sets, the new method yields highly confined and focused areas with least spatial extent in the retinotopy case, and similar results in the dynamic functional connectivity analyses compared to other blind source separation algorithms. Therefore, we conclude that our novel algorithm is highly competitive and yields results, which are superior or at least similar to existing approaches.

Bayesian population receptive field modelling

We introduce a probabilistic (Bayesian) framework and associated software toolbox for mapping population receptive fields (pRFs) based on fMRI data. This generic approach is intended to work with stimuli of any dimension and is demonstrated and validated in the context of 2D retinotopic mapping. The framework enables the experimenter to specify generative (encoding) models of fMRI timeseries, in which experimental stimuli enter a pRF model of neural activity, which in turns drives a nonlinear model of neurovascular coupling and Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) response. The neuronal and haemodynamic parameters are estimated together on a voxel-by-voxel or region-of-interest basis using a Bayesian estimation algorithm (variational Laplace). This offers several novel contributions to receptive field modelling. The variance/covariance of parameters are estimated, enabling receptive fields to be plotted while properly representing uncertainty about pRF size and location. Variability in the haemodynamic response across the brain is accounted for. Furthermore, the framework introduces formal hypothesis testing to pRF analysis, enabling competing models to be evaluated based on their log model evidence (approximated by the variational free energy), which represents the optimal tradeoff between accuracy and complexity. Using simulations and empirical data, we found that parameters typically used to represent pRF size and neuronal scaling are strongly correlated, which is taken into account by the Bayesian methods we describe when making inferences. We used the framework to compare the evidence for six variants of pRF model using 7 T functional MRI data and we found a circular Difference of Gaussians (DoG) model to be the best explanation for our data overall. We hope this framework will prove useful for mapping stimulus spaces with any number of dimensions onto the anatomy of the brain.

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We introduce a Bayesian toolbox for population receptive field (pRF) mapping.

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Neuronal and haemodynamic parameters are estimated per voxel or per region.

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Hypotheses can be tested by comparing pRF models based on their evidence.

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The uncertainty over parameters (such as pRF size) is estimated and visualised.

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We establish face validity using simulations and test-rest reliability with 7 T fMRI.

Relative latency and temporal variability of hemodynamic responses at the human primary visual cortex

The blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) signal is a robust surrogate for local neuronal activity. However, it has been shown to vary substantially across subjects, brain regions, and repetitive measurements. This variability represents a limit to the precision of the BOLD response and the ability to reliably discriminate brain hemodynamic responses elicited by external stimuli or behavior that are nearby in time. While the temporal variability of the BOLD signal at human visual cortex has been found in the range of a few hundreds of milliseconds, the spatial distributions of the average and standard deviation of this temporal variability have not been quantitatively characterized. Here we use fMRI measurements with a high sampling rate (10Hz) to map the latency, intra- and inter-subject variability of the evoked BOLD signal in human primary (V1) visual cortices using an event-related fMRI paradigm. The latency relative to the average BOLD signal evoked by 30 stimuli was estimated to be 0.03±0.20s. Within V1, the absolute value of the relative BOLD latency was found correlated to intra- and inter-subject temporal variability. After comparing these measures to retinotopic maps, we found that locations with V1 areas sensitive to smaller eccentricity have later responses and smaller inter-subject variabilities. These correlations were found from data with either short inter-stimulus interval (ISI; average 4s) or long ISI (average 30s). Maps of the relative latency as well as inter-/intra-subject variability were found visually asymmetric between hemispheres. Our results suggest that the latency and variability of regional BOLD signal measured with high spatiotemporal resolution may be used to detect regional differences in hemodynamics to inform fMRI studies. However, the physiological origins of timing index distributions and their hemispheric asymmetry remain to be investigated.

Linking Electrical Stimulation of Human Primary Visual Cortex, Size of Affected Cortical Area, Neuronal Responses, and Subjective Experience

Electrical brain stimulation (EBS) complements neural measurements by probing the causal relationship between brain and perception, cognition, and action. Many fundamental questions about EBS remain unanswered, including the spatial extent of cortex responsive to stimulation, and the relationship between the circuitry engaged by EBS and the types of neural responses elicited by sensory stimulation. Here, we measured neural responses and the effects of EBS in primary visual cortex in four patients implanted with intracranial electrodes. Using stimulation, behavior, and retinotopic mapping, we show the relationship between the size of affected cortical area and the magnitude of electrical charge. Furthermore, we show that the spatial location of electrically induced visual sensations is matched to the receptive field of the cortical site measured with broadband field potentials, and less so with event related potentials. Together, these findings broaden our knowledge about the mechanism of EBS and the neuromodulation of the human brain.

Primary visual cortical remapping in patients with inherited peripheral retinal degeneration

Human studies addressing the long-term effects of peripheral retinal degeneration on visual cortical function and structure are scarce. Here we investigated this question in patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a genetic condition leading to peripheral visual degeneration. We acquired functional and anatomical magnetic resonance data from thirteen patients with different levels of visual loss and twenty-two healthy participants to study primary (V1) visual cortical retinotopic remapping and cortical thickness. We identified systematic visual field remapping in the absence of structural changes in the primary visual cortex of RP patients. Remapping consisted in a retinotopic eccentricity shift of central retinal inputs to more peripheral locations in V1. Importantly, this was associated with changes in visual experience, as assessed by the extent of the visual loss, with more constricted visual fields resulting in larger remapping. This pattern of remapping is consistent with expansion or shifting of neuronal receptive fields into the cortical regions with reduced retinal input. These data provide evidence for functional changes in V1 that are dependent on the magnitude of peripheral visual loss in RP, which may be explained by rapid cortical adaptation mechanisms or long-term cortical reorganization. This study highlights the importance of analyzing the retinal determinants of brain functional and structural alterations for future visual restoration approaches.

Nonretinotopic visual processing in the brain

A basic principle in visual neuroscience is the retinotopic organization of neural receptive fields. Here, we review behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging evidence for nonretinotopic processing of visual stimuli. A number of behavioral studies have shown perception depending on object or external-space coordinate systems, in addition to retinal coordinates. Both single-cell neurophysiology and neuroimaging have provided evidence for the modulation of neural firing by gaze position and processing of visual information based on craniotopic or spatiotopic coordinates. Transient remapping of the spatial and temporal properties of neurons contingent on saccadic eye movements has been demonstrated in visual cortex, as well as frontal and parietal areas involved in saliency/priority maps, and is a good candidate to mediate some of the spatial invariance demonstrated by perception. Recent studies suggest that spatiotopic selectivity depends on a low spatial resolution system of maps that operates over a longer time frame than retinotopic processing and is strongly modulated by high-level cognitive factors such as attention. The interaction of an initial and rapid retinotopic processing stage, tied to new fixations, and a longer lasting but less precise nonretinotopic level of visual representation could underlie the perception of both a detailed and a stable visual world across saccadic eye movements.

The medial parietal occipital areas in the macaque monkey

The number, location, extent, and functional properties of the cortical areas that occupy the medial parieto-occipital cortex (mPOC) have been, and still is, a matter of scientific debate. The mPOC is a convoluted region of the brain that presents a high level of individual variability, and the fact that many areas of mPOC are located within very deep sulci further limits the possibility to investigate their anatomo-functional properties. In the present review, we summarize the location and extent of mPOC areas in the macaque brain as obtained by architectural, connectional, and functional data. The different approaches lead to a subdivision of mPOC that includes areas V2, V3, V6, V6Av, and V6Ad. Extrastriate areas V2 and V3 occupy the posterior wall of the parieto-occipital sulcus (POs). The fundus of POs and the ventralmost part of the anterior wall of the sulcus are occupied by a retinotopically organized visual area, called V6, which represents the contralateral part of the visual field and emphasizes its periphery. The remaining part of the anterior wall of POs is occupied by two areas, V6Av and V6Ad, which contain visual as well as arm reaching neurons. Our analyses suggest that areas V6 and V6Av, together, occupy the cortical territory previously described as area PO. Functionally, area V6 is a motion area particularly sensitive to the real motion of objects in the animal's field of view, while V6Av and V6Ad are visuomotor areas likely involved in the visual guidance of arm movement and object prehension.

Retinotopy and attention to the face and house images in the human visual cortex

Attentional modulation of the neural activities in human visual areas has been well demonstrated. However, the retinotopic activities that are driven by face and house images and attention to face and house images remain unknown. In the present study, we used images of faces and houses to estimate the retinotopic activities that were driven by both the images and attention to the images, driven by attention to the images, and driven by the images. Generally, our results show that both face and house images produced similar retinotopic activities in visual areas, which were only observed in the attention + stimulus and the attention conditions, but not in the stimulus condition. The fusiform face area (FFA) responded to faces that were presented on the horizontal meridian, whereas parahippocampal place area (PPA) rarely responded to house at any visual field. We further analyzed the amplitudes of the neural responses to the target wedge. In V1, V2, V3, V3A, lateral occipital area 1 (LO-1), and hV4, the neural responses to the attended target wedge were significantly greater than those to the unattended target wedge. However, in LO-2, ventral occipital areas 1 and 2 (VO-1 and VO-2) and FFA and PPA, the differences were not significant. We proposed that these areas likely have large fields of attentional modulation for face and house images and exhibit responses to both the target wedge and the background stimuli. In addition, we proposed that the absence of retinotopic activity in the stimulus condition might imply no perceived difference between the target wedge and the background stimuli.

Distinct effects of trial-driven and task Set-related control in primary visual cortex

Task sets are task-specific configurations of cognitive processes that facilitate task-appropriate reactions to stimuli. While it is established that the trial-by-trial deployment of visual attention to expected stimuli influences neural responses in primary visual cortex (V1) in a retinotopically specific manner, it is not clear whether the mechanisms that help maintain a task set over many trials also operate with similar retinotopic specificity. Here, we address this question by using BOLD fMRI to characterize how portions of V1 that are specialized for different eccentricities respond during distinct components of an attention-demanding discrimination task: cue-driven preparation for a trial, trial-driven processing, task-initiation at the beginning of a block of trials, and task-maintenance throughout a block of trials. Tasks required either unimodal attention to an auditory or a visual stimulus or selective intermodal attention to the visual or auditory component of simultaneously presented visual and auditory stimuli. We found that while the retinotopic patterns of trial-driven and cue-driven activity depended on the attended stimulus, the retinotopic patterns of task-initiation and task-maintenance activity did not. Further, only the retinotopic patterns of trial-driven activity were found to depend on the presence of inter-modal distraction. Participants who performed well on the intermodal selective attention tasks showed strong task-specific modulations of both trial-driven and task-maintenance activity. Importantly, task-related modulations of trial-driven and task-maintenance activity were in opposite directions. Together, these results confirm that there are (at least) two different processes for top-down control of V1: One, working trial-by-trial, differently modulates activity across different eccentricity sectors - portions of V1 corresponding to different visual eccentricities. The second process works across longer epochs of task performance, and does not differ among eccentricity sectors. These results are discussed in the context of previous literature examining top-down control of visual cortical areas.

Quantitative evaluation of fMRI retinotopic maps, from V1 to V4, for cognitive experiments

FMRI retinotopic mapping is a non-invasive technique for the delineation of low-level visual areas in individual subjects. It generally relies upon the analysis of functional responses to periodic visual stimuli that encode eccentricity or polar angle in the visual field. This technique is used in vision research when the precise assignation of brain activation to retinotopic areas is an issue. It involves processing steps computed with different algorithms and embedded in various software suites. Manual intervention may be needed for some steps. Although the diversity of the available processing suites and manual interventions may potentially introduce some differences in the final delineation of visual areas, no documented comparison between maps obtained with different procedures has been reported in the literature. To explore the effect of the processing steps on the quality of the maps obtained, we used two tools, BALC, which relies on a fully automated procedure, and BrainVoyager, where areas are delineated “by hand” on the brain surface. To focus on the mapping procedures specifically, we used the same SPM pipeline for pretreatment and the same tissue segmentation tool. We document the consistency and differences of the fMRI retinotopic maps obtained from “routine retinotopy” experiments on 10 subjects. The maps obtained by skilled users are never fully identical. However, the agreement between the maps, around 80% for low-level areas, is probably sufficient for most applications. Our results also indicate that assigning cognitive activations, following a specific experiment (here, color perception), to individual retinotopic maps is not free of errors. We provide measurements of this error, that may help for the cautious interpretation of cognitive activation projection onto fMRI retinotopic maps. On average, the magnitude of the error is about 20%, with much larger differences in a few subjects. More variability may even be expected with less trained users or using different acquisition parameters and preprocessing chains.

Retinotopic organization of extrastriate cortex in the owl monkey--dorsal and lateral areas

Dense retinotopy data sets were obtained by microelectrode visual receptive field mapping in dorsal and lateral visual cortex of anesthetized owl monkeys. The cortex was then physically flatmounted and stained for myelin or cytochrome oxidase. Retinotopic mapping data were digitized, interpolated to a uniform grid, analyzed using the visual field sign technique-which locally distinguishes mirror image from nonmirror image visual field representations-and correlated with the myelin or cytochrome oxidase patterns. The region between V2 (nonmirror) and MT (nonmirror) contains three areas-DLp (mirror), DLi (nonmirror), and DLa/MTc (mirror). DM (mirror) was thin anteroposteriorly, and its reduced upper field bent somewhat anteriorly away from V2. DI (nonmirror) directly adjoined V2 (nonmirror) and contained only an upper field representation that also adjoined upper field DM (mirror). Retinotopy was used to define area VPP (nonmirror), which adjoins DM anteriorly, area FSTd (mirror), which adjoins MT ventrolaterally, and TP (mirror), which adjoins MT and DLa/MTc dorsoanteriorly. There was additional retinotopic and architectonic evidence for five more subdivisions of dorsal and lateral extrastriate cortex-TA (nonmirror), MSTd (mirror), MSTv (nonmirror), FSTv (nonmirror), and PP (mirror). Our data appear quite similar to data from marmosets, though our field sign-based areal subdivisions are slightly different. The region immediately anterior to the superiorly located central lower visual field V2 varied substantially between individuals, but always contained upper fields immediately touching lower visual field V2. This region appears to vary even more between species. Though we provide a summary diagram, given within- and between-species variation, it should be regarded as a guide to parsing complex retinotopy rather than a literal representation of any individual, or as the only way to agglomerate the complex mosaic of partial upper and lower field, mirror- and nonmirror-image patches into areas.

Human V4 and ventral occipital retinotopic maps

The ventral surface of the human occipital lobe contains multiple retinotopic maps. The most posterior of these maps is considered a potential homolog of macaque V4, and referred to as human V4 ("hV4"). The location of the hV4 map, its retinotopic organization, its role in visual encoding, and the cortical areas it borders have been the subject of considerable investigation and debate over the last 25 years. We review the history of this map and adjacent maps in ventral occipital cortex, and consider the different hypotheses for how these ventral occipital maps are organized. Advances in neuroimaging, computational modeling, and characterization of the nearby anatomical landmarks and functional brain areas have improved our understanding of where human V4 is and what kind of visual representations it contains.

Case report: practicability of functionally based tractography of the optic radiation during presurgical epilepsy work up

Pre-operative tractography of the optic radiation (OR) has been advised to assess the risk for postoperative visual field deficit (VFD) in certain candidates for resective epilepsy surgery. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography relies on a precise anatomical determination of start and target regions of interest (ROIs), such as the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and the primary visual cortex (V1). The post-chiasmal visual pathway and V1 show considerable inter-individual variability, and in epilepsy patients parenchymatous lesions might further complicate this matter. A functionally based tractography (FBT) seems beneficial for precise OR identification. We assessed practicability of FBT for OR identification in a patient with occipital lobe epilepsy due to a temporo-occipital maldevelopmental tumor. The MRI protocol at 3T included a T1-weighted sagittal 3D scan, a T2-weighted axial 2D scan and a DTI scan using an echo planar spin echo sequence. ROIs for fiber tracking of OR (LGN & V1) were determined with T2*-weighted fMRI-based retinotopic assessment. After DTI pre-processing and fiber tracking, paths with similar properties were combined in clusters for visual presentation and OR localization. Retinotopic phase maps allowed for the identification of V1 and LGN for a precise DTI-based reconstruction of OR, which was distant to the patient's tumor. Location and structure of ORs were comparable in each hemisphere. FBT could thus influence the human research of the extrastriate visual pathway and the risk management of post-operative VFD in epilepsy surgery.