Top-down control of visual cortex by the frontal eye fields through oscillatory realignment

Veniero, D., Gross, J. , Morand, S. , Duecker, F., Sack, A. T. and Thut, G. (2021) Top-down control of visual cortex by the frontal eye fields through oscillatory realignment. Nature Communications, 12, 1757. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21979-7) (PMID:33741947) (PMCID:PMC7979788)

Abstract

Voluntary allocation of visual attention is controlled by top-down signals generated within the Frontal Eye Fields (FEFs) that can change the excitability of lower-level visual areas. However, the mechanism through which this control is achieved remains elusive. Here, we emulated the generation of an attentional signal using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to activate the FEFs and tracked its consequences over the visual cortex. First, we documented changes to brain oscillations using electroencephalography and found evidence for a phase reset over occipital sites at beta frequency. We then probed for perceptual consequences of this top-down triggered phase reset and assessed its anatomical specificity. We show that FEF activation leads to cyclic modulation of visual perception and extrastriate but not primary visual cortex excitability, again at beta frequency. We conclude that top-down signals originating in FEF causally shape visual cortex activity and perception through mechanisms of oscillatory realignment.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Morand, Dr Stephanie and Thut, Professor Gregor and Gross, Professor Joachim and Veniero, Dr Domenica
• Authors: Veniero, D., Gross, J., Morand, S., Duecker, F., Sack, A. T., and Thut, G.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Life Sciences
• Journal Name: Nature Communications
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN (Online): 2041-1723
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Nature Communications 12: 1757
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License
• Data DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/NX3YV

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
167201		Natural and modulated neural communication: State-dependent decoding and driving of human Brain Oscillations	Gregor Thut	Wellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)	098434/Z/12/Z	NP - Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi)
167204		Natural and modulated neural communication: State-dependent decoding and driving of human Brain Oscillations.	Joachim Gross	Wellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)	098433/Z/12/Z	NP - Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi)