Topographic organization of eye-position dependent gain fields in human visual cortex

Fabius, J. H., Moravkova, K. and Fracasso, A. (2022) Topographic organization of eye-position dependent gain fields in human visual cortex. Nature Communications, 13, 7925. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35488-8) (PMID:36564372) (PMCID:PMC9789150)

Abstract

The ability to move has introduced animals with the problem of sensory ambiguity: the position of an external stimulus could change over time because the stimulus moved, or because the animal moved its receptors. This ambiguity can be resolved with a change in neural response gain as a function of receptor orientation. Here, we developed an encoding model to capture gain modulation of visual responses in high field (7 T) fMRI data. We characterized population eye-position dependent gain fields (pEGF). The information contained in the pEGFs allowed us to reconstruct eye positions over time across the visual hierarchy. We discovered a systematic distribution of pEGF centers: pEGF centers shift from contra- to ipsilateral following pRF eccentricity. Such a topographical organization suggests that signals beyond pure retinotopy are accessible early in the visual hierarchy, providing the potential to solve sensory ambiguity and optimize sensory processing information for functionally relevant behavior.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: A.F. is supported by a grant from the Biotechnology and Biology research council (BBSRC, grant number: BB/S006605/1) and the Bial Foundation, Bial Foundation Grants Programme Grant ID: A-29315, number: 203/2020, grant edition: G-15516.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Fracasso, Dr Alessio and Moravkova, Katarina and Fabius, Mr Jasper
• Authors: Fabius, J. H., Moravkova, K., and Fracasso, A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Journal Name: Nature Communications
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN (Online): 2041-1723
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Nature Communications 13: 7925
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License
• Data DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/GTD5R

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
303685		Stable perception of external stimuli over time: oculo-motor and visual processing mechanisms	Alessio Fracasso	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)	BB/S006605/1	Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging