Perceptual decision-making difficulty modulates feedforward effective connectivity to the dorsolateral prefrontal...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Visual Perception

Background:

• Cortical networks coordinate visual information processing for object discrimination.
• The precise mechanisms underlying visual discrimination remain largely unknown.
• Understanding these networks is crucial for deciphering visual perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural network involved in face-house categorization.
• To explore how sensory information is relayed and integrated for perceptual decisions.
• To elucidate the role of specific brain regions in visual discrimination tasks.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments with 33 participants performing face-house categorization tasks.
• Behavioral analysis correlating performance errors and response times with image noise levels.
• Dynamical causal modeling (DCM) of blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signals in key visual and prefrontal areas.

Main Results:

• A feed-forward connectivity pattern was identified from the fusiform face area (FFA) and parahippocampal place area (PPA) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC).
• This feed-forward connectivity was significantly modulated by the perception of both faces and houses.
• Increased noise levels led to heightened dlPFC-BOLD activity and enhanced connectivity from FFA and PPA to dlPFC.

Conclusions:

• The FFA-PPA-dlPFC network is critical for relaying and integrating competing sensory information during perceptual decision-making.
• This network's activity and connectivity scale with increasing visual noise, suggesting its role in resolving ambiguity.
• The findings provide insights into the neural basis of visual object discrimination and decision processes.