Neural Mechanisms of Spatial Attention in the Visual Thalamus

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri B. Saalmann ◽  
Sabine Kastner
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Thalamic Nucleus ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
First Order ◽  
Visual Thalamus ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Visual Cortical

Neural mechanisms of selective attention route behaviourally relevant information through brain networks for detailed processing. These attention mechanisms are classically viewed as being solely implemented in the cortex, relegating the thalamus to a passive relay of sensory information. However, this passive view of the thalamus is being revised in light of recent studies supporting an important role for the thalamus in selective attention. Evidence suggests that the first-order thalamic nucleus, the lateral geniculate nucleus, regulates the visual information transmitted from the retina to visual cortex, while the higher-order thalamic nucleus, the pulvinar, regulates information transmission between visual cortical areas, according to attentional demands. This chapter discusses how modulation of thalamic responses, switching the response mode of thalamic neurons, and changes in neural synchrony across thalamo-cortical networks contribute to selective attention.

scholarly journals Pulvinar influences parietal delay activity and information transmission between dorsal and ventral visual cortex in macaques

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri B. Saalmann ◽  
Ryan Ly ◽  
Mark A. Pinsk ◽  
Sabine Kastner
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Information Transmission ◽  
Parietal Cortex ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Sustained Activity ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Visual Cortical

AbstractThe fronto-parietal attention network represents attentional priorities and provides feedback about these priorities to sensory cortical areas. Sustained spiking activity in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) carries such prioritized information, but how this activity is sustained in the absence of feedforward sensory information, and how it is transmitted to the ventral visual cortical pathway, is unclear. We hypothesized that the higher-order thalamic nucleus, the pulvinar, which is connected with both the PPC and ventral visual cortical pathway, influences information transmission within and between these cortical regions. To test this, we simultaneously recorded from the pulvinar, lateral intraparietal area (LIP) and visual cortical area V4 in macaques performing a selective attention task. Here we show that LIP influenced V4 during the delay period of the attention task, and that the pulvinar regulated LIP-V4 information exchange. Pulvino-cortical effects were consistent with the pulvinar supporting sustained activity in LIP. Taken together, these results suggest that pulvinar regulation of cortical functional connectivity generalizes to dorsal and ventral visual cortical pathways. Further, the pulvinar’s role in sustaining parietal delay activity during selective attention implicates the pulvinar in other cognitive processes supported by such delay activity, including decision-making, categorization and oculomotor functions.Significance StatementA network of areas on the brain’s surface, in frontal and parietal cortex, allocate attention to behaviorally relevant information around us. Such areas in parietal cortex show sustained activity during maintained attention and transmit behaviorally relevant information to visual cortical areas to enhance sensory processing of attended objects. How this activity is sustained and how it is transmitted to visual areas supporting object perception is unclear. We show that a subcortical area, the pulvinar in the thalamus, helps sustain activity in the cortex and regulates the information transmitted between the fronto-parietal attention network and visual cortex. This suggests that the thalamus, classically considered as a simple relay for sensory information, contributes to higher-level cognitive functions.

scholarly journals Routing information flow by separate neural synchrony frequencies allows for “functionally labeled lines” in higher primate cortex

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (25) ◽  
pp. 12506-12515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Bagher Khamechian ◽  
Vladislav Kozyrev ◽  
Stefan Treue ◽  
Moein Esghaei ◽  
Mohammad Reza Daliri
Keyword(s):  
Information Flow ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Spike Timing ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
High Gamma ◽  
Ventral Pathway ◽  
Visual Cortical

Efficient transfer of sensory information to higher (motor or associative) areas in primate visual cortical areas is crucial for transforming sensory input into behavioral actions. Dynamically increasing the level of coordination between single neurons has been suggested as an important contributor to this efficiency. We propose that differences between the functional coordination in different visual pathways might be used to unambiguously identify the source of input to the higher areas, ensuring a proper routing of the information flow. Here we determined the level of coordination between neurons in area MT in macaque visual cortex in a visual attention task via the strength of synchronization between the neurons’ spike timing relative to the phase of oscillatory activities in local field potentials. In contrast to reports on the ventral visual pathway, we observed the synchrony of spikes only in the range of high gamma (180 to 220 Hz), rather than gamma (40 to 70 Hz) (as reported previously) to predict the animal’s reaction speed. This supports a mechanistic role of the phase of high-gamma oscillatory activity in dynamically modulating the efficiency of neuronal information transfer. In addition, for inputs to higher cortical areas converging from the dorsal and ventral pathway, the distinct frequency bands of these inputs can be leveraged to preserve the identity of the input source. In this way source-specific oscillatory activity in primate cortex can serve to establish and maintain “functionally labeled lines” for dynamically adjusting cortical information transfer and multiplexing converging sensory signals.

scholarly journals Characterization of Feedback Neurons in the High-Level Visual Cortical Areas That Project Directly to the Primary Visual Cortex in the Cat

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huijun Pan ◽  
Shen Zhang ◽  
Deng Pan ◽  
Zheng Ye ◽  
Hao Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Area 21A ◽  
High Level ◽  
Visual Cortical

Previous studies indicate that top-down influence plays a critical role in visual information processing and perceptual detection. However, the substrate that carries top-down influence remains poorly understood. Using a combined technique of retrograde neuronal tracing and immunofluorescent double labeling, we characterized the distribution and cell type of feedback neurons in cat’s high-level visual cortical areas that send direct connections to the primary visual cortex (V1: area 17). Our results showed: (1) the high-level visual cortex of area 21a at the ventral stream and PMLS area at the dorsal stream have a similar proportion of feedback neurons back projecting to the V1 area, (2) the distribution of feedback neurons in the higher-order visual area 21a and PMLS was significantly denser than in the intermediate visual cortex of area 19 and 18, (3) feedback neurons in all observed high-level visual cortex were found in layer II–III, IV, V, and VI, with a higher proportion in layer II–III, V, and VI than in layer IV, and (4) most feedback neurons were CaMKII-positive excitatory neurons, and few of them were identified as inhibitory GABAergic neurons. These results may argue against the segregation of ventral and dorsal streams during visual information processing, and support “reverse hierarchy theory” or interactive model proposing that recurrent connections between V1 and higher-order visual areas constitute the functional circuits that mediate visual perception. Also, the corticocortical feedback neurons from high-level visual cortical areas to the V1 area are mostly excitatory in nature.

scholarly journals Early Electrophysiological Markers of Navigational Affordances in Scenes

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Assaf Harel ◽  
Jeffery D. Nador ◽  
Michael F. Bonner ◽  
Russell A. Epstein
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Scene Perception ◽  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Visual Complexity ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Perceptual Processing ◽  
Research Reporting ◽  
Cortical Areas

Abstract Scene perception and spatial navigation are interdependent cognitive functions, and there is increasing evidence that cortical areas that process perceptual scene properties also carry information about the potential for navigation in the environment (navigational affordances). However, the temporal stages by which visual information is transformed into navigationally relevant information are not yet known. We hypothesized that navigational affordances are encoded during perceptual processing and therefore should modulate early visually evoked ERPs, especially the scene-selective P2 component. To test this idea, we recorded ERPs from participants while they passively viewed computer-generated room scenes matched in visual complexity. By simply changing the number of doors (no doors, 1 door, 2 doors, 3 doors), we were able to systematically vary the number of pathways that afford movement in the local environment, while keeping the overall size and shape of the environment constant. We found that rooms with no doors evoked a higher P2 response than rooms with three doors, consistent with prior research reporting higher P2 amplitude to closed relative to open scenes. Moreover, we found P2 amplitude scaled linearly with the number of doors in the scenes. Navigability effects on the ERP waveform were also observed in a multivariate analysis, which showed significant decoding of the number of doors and their location at earlier time windows. Together, our results suggest that navigational affordances are represented in the early stages of scene perception. This complements research showing that the occipital place area automatically encodes the structure of navigable space and strengthens the link between scene perception and navigation.

scholarly journals Effects of arousal and movement on secondary somatosensory and visual thalamus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon H. Petty ◽  
Amanda K. Kinnischtzke ◽  
Y. Kate Hong ◽  
Randy M. Bruno
Keyword(s):  
Thalamic Nucleus ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Efference Copy ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Thalamic Nuclei ◽  
Visual Thalamus ◽  
Cortical Motor ◽  
Whisker Pad ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Arousal Effect

SummaryAll neocortical sensory areas have an associated primary and secondary thalamic nucleus. While the primary nuclei encode sensory information and relay it to cortex, the information encoded by the activity of secondary nuclei is poorly understood. We recorded juxtasomally from neurons in secondary somatosensory (POm) and visual (LP) thalamic nuclei of awake head-fixed mice with simultaneous whisker tracking and pupilometry. POm activity correlated with whether or not a mouse was whisking, but not fast precise whisking kinematics. This coarse movement modulation persisted after unilateral paralysis of the whisker pad and thus was not due to sensory reafference. POm continued to track whisking even after optogenetic silencing of primary somatosensory and motor cortex, indicating that cortical motor efference copy cannot explain the correlation between movement and POm activity. Whisking and pupil dilation were strongly correlated, raising the possibility that POm tracks arousal rather than whisker movement. LP, being part of the visual system, is not expected to encode whisker movement. However, we discovered that LP and POm track whisking equally well, suggesting a global arousal effect on both nuclei. We conclude that arousal, rather than movement per se, strongly alters activity in secondary thalamic nuclei.

scholarly journals Biological variation in the sizes, shapes and locations of visual cortical areas in the mouse

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Waters ◽  
Eric Lee ◽  
Nathalie Gaudreault ◽  
Fiona Griffin ◽  
Jerome Lecoq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Biological Variation ◽  
Measurement Noise ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Retinotopic Maps ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Visual Cortical ◽  
Cortical Visual Areas ◽  
Processing Of Visual Information

ABSTRACTVisual cortex is organized into discrete sub-regions or areas that are arranged into a hierarchy and serve different functions in the processing of visual information. In our previous work, we noted that retinotopic maps of cortical visual areas differed between mice, but did not quantify these differences or determine the relative contributions of biological variation and measurement noise. Here we quantify the biological variation in the size, shape and locations of 11 visual areas in the mouse. We find that there is substantial biological variation in the sizes of visual areas, with some visual areas varying in size by two-fold across the population of mice.

scholarly journals Feature-based gating of cortical information transmission

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Baloni Ray ◽  
Daniel Kaping ◽  
Stefan Treue
Keyword(s):  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
High Gain ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Feature Similarity ◽  
Visual Cortical Area ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Visual Cortical

In highly developed visual systems, spatial- and feature-based attentional modulation interact to prioritize relevant information and suppress irrelevant details. We investigated the specific role and integration of these two attentional mechanisms in visual cortical area MST of rhesus monkeys. We show that spatial attention acts as a gate for information processing by providing unimpeded high-gain pass-through processing for all sensory information from attended visual locations. Feature-based attentional enhancement does not only show the known dependency on a match between the attended feature and a given cells selectivity, but surprisingly is restricted to those features for which a given cell contributes to perception. This necessitates a refinement of the feature-similarity gain model of attention and documents highly optimized attentional gating of sensory information for cortical processing. This gating is shaped by neuronal sensory preferences, behavioral relevance, and the causal link to perception of neurons that process this visual input.

scholarly journals Cortical and thalamic connectivity of occipital visual cortical areas 17, 18, 19 and 21 of the domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo).

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh-Anne Dell ◽  
Giorgio M Innocenti ◽  
Claus C Hilgetag ◽  
Paul R Manger
Keyword(s):  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Mustela Putorius ◽  
Cortical Connectivity ◽  
Ipsilateral Hemisphere ◽  
Dorsal Thalamus ◽  
Visual Thalamus ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Visual Cortical

The present study describes the ipsilateral and contralateral cortico-cortical and cortico-thalamic connectivity of the occipital visual areas 17,18, 19 and 21 in the ferret using standard anatomical tract-tracing methods. In line with previous studies of mammalian visual cortex connectivity, substantially more anterograde and retrograde label was present in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the injection site compared to the contralateral hemisphere. Ipsilateral reciprocal connectivity was the strongest within the occipital visual areas, while weaker connectivity strength was observed in the temporal, suprasylvian and parietal visual areas. Callosal connectivity tended to be strongest in the homotopic cortical areas, and revealed a similar areal distribution to that observed in the ipsilateral hemisphere, although often less widespread across cortical areas. Ipsilateral reciprocal connectivity was observed throughout the visual nuclei of the dorsal thalamus, with no contralateral connections to the visual thalamus being observed. The current study, along with previous studies of connectivity in the cat, identified the posteromedial lateral suprasylvian visual area (PMLS) as a distinct network hub external to the occipital visual areas in carnivores, implicating PMLS as a potential gateway to the parietal cortex for dorsal stream processing. These data will also contribute to the Ferretome (www.ferretome.org), a macro connectome database of the ferret brain, providing essential data for connectomics analyses and cross-species analyses of connectomes and brain connectivity matrices, as well as providing data relevant to additional studies of cortical connectivity across mammals and the evolution of cortical connectivity variation.

scholarly journals Spatial and feature-selective attention have distinct effects on population-level tuning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Goddard ◽  
Thomas A. Carlson ◽  
Alexandra Woolgar
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Tuning Curve ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
The Right

AbstractAttention is a fundamental brain process by which we selectively prioritize relevant information in our environment. Cognitively, we can employ different methods for selecting visual information for further processing, but the extent to which these are implemented by similar or different neural processes remains unclear. Spatial and feature-selective attention both change the stimulus related information signaled by single-cells and neural populations, but relatively few studies have directly compared the effects of these distinct types of attention. We scanned participants (n=20) using MEG, while they covertly attended to an object on the left or the right of fixation (spatial attention manipulation) and reported the object’s shape or color (feature-selective attention manipulation). We used multivariate pattern classification to measure population stimulus-coding in occipital and frontal areas, for attended and non-attended stimulus features, at attended and non-attended locations. In occipital cortex, we show that both spatial and feature-selective attention enhanced object representations, and the effects of these two attention types interacted multiplicatively. We also found that spatial and feature-selective attention induced qualitatively different patterns of enhancement in occipital cortex for the encoding of stimulus color. Specifically, feature-based attention primarily enhanced small color differences, while spatial attention produced greater enhancement for larger differences. We demonstrate that principles of response-gain and tuning curve sharpening that have been applied to describe the effects of attention at the level of a single neuron can account for these differences. An information flow analysis suggested that these attentional effects may be driven by feedback from frontal areas.

scholarly journals Selection and suppression of visual information in the macaque prefrontal cortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Di Bello ◽  
S. Ben Hadj Hassen ◽  
E. Astrand ◽  
S. Ben Hamed
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Attentional Selection ◽  
Prefrontal Cortical ◽  
Cognitive Framework ◽  
Task Irrelevant

AbstractIn everyday life, we are continuously struggling at focusing on our current goals while at the same time avoiding distractions. Attention is the neuro-cognitive process devoted to the selection of behaviorally relevant sensory information while at the same time preventing distraction by irrelevant information. Visual selection can be implemented by both long-term (learning-based spatial prioritization) and short term (dynamic spatial attention) mechanisms. On the other hand, distraction can be prevented proactively, by strategically prioritizing task-relevant information at the expense of irrelevant information, or reactively, by actively suppressing the processing of distractors. The distinctive neuronal signature of each of these four processes is largely unknown. Likewise, how selection and suppression mechanisms interact to drive perception has never been explored neither at the behavioral nor at the neuronal level. Here, we apply machine-learning decoding methods to prefrontal cortical (PFC) activity to monitor dynamic spatial attention with an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. This leads to several novel observations. We first identify independent behavioral and neuronal signatures for learning-based attention prioritization and dynamic attentional selection. Second, we identify distinct behavioral and neuronal signatures for proactive and reactive suppression mechanisms. We find that while distracting task-relevant information is suppressed proactively, task-irrelevant information is suppressed reactively. Critically, we show that distractor suppression, whether proactive or reactive, strongly depends on both learning-based attention prioritization and dynamic attentional selection. Overall, we thus provide a unified neuro-cognitive framework describing how the prefrontal cortex implements spatial selection and distractor suppression in order to flexibly optimize behavior in dynamic environments.

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