Alpha-frequency feedback to early visual cortex orchestrates coherent naturalistic vision

Chen, Lixiang; Cichy, Radoslaw M.; Kaiser, Daniel

doi:10.1126/sciadv.adi2321

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 72 publications

(96 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the human visual system, the beauty of natural scene images was only robustly predicted from responses in scene-selective PPA. Previous studies indicate that PPA is capable of integrating scene elements distributed across visual space, specifically when the scenes form a meaningful perceptual whole ( 52 , 75 , 76 ). Here, we show that such integration processes systematically vary across scenes and that this variation is a determinant for a scene’s aesthetic appeal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrative processing in artificial and biological vision predicts the perceived beauty of natural images

Nara,

Kaiser

2024

Sci. Adv.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous research shows that the beauty of natural images is already determined during perceptual analysis. However, it is unclear which perceptual computations give rise to the perception of beauty. Here, we tested whether perceived beauty is predicted by spatial integration across an image, a perceptual computation that reduces processing demands by aggregating image parts into more efficient representations of the whole. We quantified integrative processing in an artificial deep neural network model, where the degree of integration was determined by the amount of deviation between activations for the whole image and its constituent parts. This quantification of integration predicted beauty ratings for natural images across four studies with different stimuli and designs. In a complementary functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we show that integrative processing in human visual cortex similarly predicts perceived beauty. Together, our results establish integration as a computational principle that facilitates perceptual analysis and thereby mediates the perception of beauty.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrative processing in artificial and biological vision predicts the perceived beauty of natural images

Nara,

Kaiser

2024

Sci. Adv.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One possibility is that imagery-related information is encoded in neural rhythms that are involved in topdown processing. Previous research has provided evidence that alpha and beta rhythms carry top-down information in the visual cortex [7][8][9][10] , making them likely candidates to play a role in imagery processing. In the past decades, the relation between alpha activity and visual imagery has been studied to quite an extent.…”

Section: Representations Of Imaginary Scenes and Their Properties In ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Representations of imaginary scenes and their properties in cortical alpha activity

Stecher,

Kaiser

2024

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Imagining natural scenes enables us to engage with a myriad of simulated environments. How do our brains generate such complex mental images? Recent research suggests that cortical alpha activity carries information about individual objects during visual imagery. However, it remains unclear if more complex imagined contents such as natural scenes are similarly represented in alpha activity. Here, we answer this question by decoding the contents of imagined scenes from rhythmic cortical activity patterns. In an EEG experiment, participants imagined natural scenes based on detailed written descriptions, which conveyed four complementary scene properties: openness, naturalness, clutter level and brightness. By conducting classification analyses on EEG power patterns across neural frequencies, we were able to decode both individual imagined scenes as well as their properties from the alpha band, showing that also the contents of complex visual images are represented in alpha rhythms. A cross-classification analysis between alpha power patterns during the imagery task and during a perception task, in which participants were presented images of the described scenes, showed that scene representations in the alpha band are partly shared between imagery and late stages of perception. This suggests that alpha activity mediates the top-down re-activation of scene-related visual contents during imagery.

show abstract

Distinct neural signatures underlying information maintenance and manipulation in working memory

Shi,

2024

Cerebral Cortex

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous working memory research has demonstrated robust stimulus representations during memory maintenance in both voltage and alpha-band activity in electroencephalography. However, the exact functions of these 2 neural signatures have remained controversial. Here we systematically investigated their respective contributions to memory manipulation. Human participants either maintained a previously seen spatial location, or manipulated the location following a mental rotation cue over a delay. Using multivariate decoding, we observed robust location representations in low-frequency voltage and alpha-band oscillatory activity with distinct spatiotemporal dynamics: location representations were most evident in posterior channels in alpha-band activity, but were most prominent in the more anterior, central channels in voltage signals. Moreover, the temporal emergence of manipulated representation in central voltage preceded that in posterior alpha-band activity, suggesting that voltage might carry stimulus-specific source signals originated internally from anterior cortex, whereas alpha-band activity might reflect feedback signals in posterior cortex received from higher-order cortex. Lastly, while location representations in both signals were coded in a low-dimensional neural subspace, location representation in central voltage was higher-dimensional and underwent a representational transformation that exclusively predicted memory behavior. Together, these results highlight the crucial role of central voltage in working memory, and support functional distinctions between voltage and alpha-band activity.

show abstract

Alpha-frequency feedback to early visual cortex orchestrates coherent naturalistic vision

Cited by 8 publications

References 72 publications

Integrative processing in artificial and biological vision predicts the perceived beauty of natural images

Integrative processing in artificial and biological vision predicts the perceived beauty of natural images

Representations of imaginary scenes and their properties in cortical alpha activity

Distinct neural signatures underlying information maintenance and manipulation in working memory

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About