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Related Concept Videos

Vision01:24

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

Association Areas of the Cortex

Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Topographical Estimation of Visual Population Receptive Fields by fMRI
06:02

Topographical Estimation of Visual Population Receptive Fields by fMRI

Published on: February 3, 2015

Negative BOLD fMRI response in the visual cortex carries precise stimulus-specific information.

David Bressler1, Nicole Spotswood, David Whitney

  • 1The Department of Psychology and The Center for Mind and Brain, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America.

Plos One
|May 4, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Negative BOLD responses in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, previously thought to carry little information, actually contain stimulus-specific details. These findings challenge the traditional interpretation of negative BOLD signals in visual cortex processing.

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Last Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Topographical Estimation of Visual Population Receptive Fields by fMRI
06:02

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Published on: February 3, 2015

Optogenetic Functional MRI
06:06

Optogenetic Functional MRI

Published on: April 19, 2016

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) of the Visual Cortex with Wide-View Retinotopic Stimulation
07:11

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) of the Visual Cortex with Wide-View Retinotopic Stimulation

Published on: December 8, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Visual Processing

Background:

  • Sustained positive BOLD activity is standardly used in fMRI to infer neural responses.
  • Negative BOLD responses are less understood and often dismissed as non-informative.
  • Existing theories suggest negative BOLD may result from "blood stealing" or neural suppression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the information content of sustained negative BOLD responses in the visual cortex.
  • To determine if negative BOLD regions carry stimulus-specific information despite being below the fixation baseline.
  • To challenge the predominant reliance on positive BOLD signals in fMRI interpretation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with visual stimulation.
  • Employed a general linear model (GLM) to identify negative BOLD regions.
  • Analyzed spatial patterns of fMRI activity in response to systematically shifted Gabor stimuli within negative BOLD regions.

Main Results:

  • Identified sustained negative BOLD responses in the visual cortex, consistent with prior studies.
  • Demonstrated a significant decrease in spatial activity correlation as stimuli were shifted, indicating stimulus specificity.
  • Showed that negative BOLD regions could discriminate objects with high precision (sub-0.5 deg separation).

Conclusions:

  • Negative BOLD responses in the visual cortex carry significant stimulus-specific information.
  • These findings suggest meaningful neural processing occurs even in regions with negative BOLD signals.
  • Re-evaluation of negative BOLD signals is warranted for a comprehensive understanding of fMRI data.