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Surround modulation measured with functional MRI in the human visual cortex.

Adrian L Williams¹, Krishna D Singh, Andrew T Smith

¹Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, United Kingdom.

Journal of Neurophysiology

|January 11, 2003

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

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Visual context significantly impacts human perception and brain activity. This study used functional MRI to show that surrounding visual stimuli, particularly those with similar orientation, suppress activity in the human visual cortex.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Visual Perception
Cognitive Science

Background:

Visual context profoundly influences neural responses and perceptual sensitivity.
Previous research indicates contextual modulation in mammalian visual systems.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate contextual modulation in the human visual cortex using functional MRI.
To investigate the stimulus-specific nature of surround effects in visual processing.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies were conducted.
Subjects viewed central gratings with and without surrounding gratings.
Stimulus-correlated activation was quantified on flattened maps of the occipital gray matter.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

Contextual modulation, predominantly suppressive, was observed in the human visual cortex.
Suppression was greatest for co-oriented and in-phase center/surround gratings.
Suppression decreased, and facilitation increased with orthogonal orientations and opposite phases, especially with eccentric presentation.

Conclusions:

The findings provide direct evidence of powerful, stimulus-specific surround effects in the human visual cortex.
These results align with single-neuron and perceptual studies of contextual modulation.
Contextual modulation plays a crucial role in shaping visual perception and neural processing.