transient cortical excitation at the onset of visual fixation visual recognition is brain state...
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Transient Cortical Excitation at the onset of visual fixation
Visual recognition is brain state dependent
How do we see the world• Scan the environment • Saccades – movement of the eyes from point of
fixation• At each fixation point – a multitude of retinal
outputs enter the system. Question – How does the onset of visual fixation (in
the absence of stimulation) effect the ongoing neural activity of the brain?
Perisaccadic Modulation • Observed in different visual pathway areas ranging from
the LGN to the prefrontal cortex• Suppression followed by enhancement• “priming effect” – for new visual input • Occurs in the absence of visual stimulation
• Pg 10 – “ The brain is perpetually active, even in the absence of environmental and body derived stimuli…in fact a main argument put forward in this book is that most of the brains activity is generated from within and perturbation of this default pattern by external inputs often causes only a minor departure from it’s robust and internally controlled program” – Rhythms of the brain
Fixation-Amplifier Hypothesis
• Developed a hypothesis based on perisaccadic modulation
• Refelective of an underlying mechanism • Increased neural responses to information
entering the retina during the point of fixation
Prove it?
• Developed a study • Animal sat in chair with eyes fixated in a set position • Eye tracker • Complete darkness • LED light• EEG + MUA • V1• 13 experimental sessions • 3 parts to study
Part 1 – CSD and MUA
Describing Fixation quantitatively: AVREC & AVMUA
• Computed grand mean for CSD – AVREC • Computed grand mean for MUA- AVMUA
Mechanisms that bring about excitation
2 possibilities:
1)The effect is local excitation triggered by some internal input – efferent copy of eye muscle command.
2) Phase resetting/phase modulation – which is the reorganization of ongoing activity without the addition of energy to the system
….
• Pg 111 – “ Brain dynamics constantly shift from the complex to the predictable…neural activity shuttles between the interference prone complexity and robust predictable oscillatory synchrony”. – Rhythms of the brain
Assessing Phase Concentration
Continue…
• These findings support the idea that oscillatory phase concentration reflects modulation of the local neural ensemble in preparation for the arrival of visual inputs generated at fixation.
Phase Histogram
2 questions still remain?
• 1)is the phase concentration purely indicative of phase resetting?
• 2) Hilbert Transform which was used to calculate the phase ignores frequency, so how can you interpret these results relative to the frequency bands seen in the EEG?
Amplitude of pre/post fixation in 3 bands:
….• Theta/delta (3-8hz) brings about phase
concentrated synchrony which is needed for optimal responding in the presence of visual fixation.
• Thus – figures 1 and 2 revealed and increase in CSD and MUA following fixation onset and figures 3 and 4 demonstrate that these increases are associated with oscillatory phase concentration and increases in spectral power.
• Do these effects reflect an increase in local cortical excitability?
Ideal vs worst phase
• Wanted to know whether or not the phase distribution during the time of fixation is associated with enhanced excitability?
• Calculated the mean CSD and MUA amplitudes
• Ideal vs worst phase.
Graphic representation of ideal & worst phase
results
• Amplitude is greater in post stimulus• Ideal phase does not reflect excitability rather
onset of fixation does.• Ideal phase is not fundamentally different
from the oscillatory phase
Explanation.
• The idea is that the fixation-related phase resetting of the oscillation can place a new retinal image in an “ideal” optimal excitability phase so that the response is amplified relative to inputs that are NOT synchronized to fixation.
• Makes use of the large amount of energy found in the oscillations
Summary:• 1) Neural modulation at the onset of fixation
reflects an underlying nonvisual mechanism that produces local neural excitation at the point of fixation in V1.
• 2) Fixation onset is associated with significant oscillatory phase concentration
• 3) Synchrony occurred in the “delta/theta” band • 4)Fixation effects reflect the ability of the brain
gaze control system to “prime” or “prepare” the visual system for temporal patterns of visual input.
Implications
• 1) enhances perception • 2) color• 3) Attention• 4) Natural Vision * Refer to last note
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