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Connectivity Reveals Sources of Predictive Coding Signals in Early Visual Cortex During Processing of Visual Optic
Andreas Schindler1,2,3, Andreas Bartels1,2,3
1Vision and Cognition Lab, Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|May 26, 2016
Summary
Predictive coding explains how the brain anticipates sensory input. This study reveals specific high-level visual areas connect to early visual cortex (EVC), mediating reduced brain responses to predictable motion stimuli.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Feedback connections in the brain transmit high-level information to lower cortical areas.
- Predictive coding theory posits that high-level areas predict sensory input, leading to reduced neural responses when predictions are met.
- Neuroimaging studies often show reduced blood oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in early visual cortex (EVC) for predictable stimuli.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural sources of feedback signals modulating EVC activity during predictable visual motion.
- To test the hypothesis that specific high-level visual areas mediate BOLD suppression in EVC.
Main Methods:
- Functional connectivity analysis of fMRI data.
- Comparison of BOLD responses to coherent (predictable) versus random (unpredictable) visual motion.
- Analysis of connectivity between EVC and known visual motion processing areas.
Main Results:
- BOLD suppression in EVC was confirmed for coherent motion.
- Optic flow-dependent functional connectivity increased between EVC and a network of visual motion areas (MST, V3A, V6, CSv, Pc).
- Connectivity decreased between EVC and areas involved in heading direction (entorhinal cortex, retrosplenial cortex).
Conclusions:
- The findings provide the first evidence that BOLD suppression in EVC for predictable stimuli is mediated by specific high-level visual areas.
- This supports the predictive coding framework, suggesting top-down predictions influence early visual processing.
- Identified specific high-level areas (MST, V3A, V6, CSv, Pc) as potential sources of predictive feedback to EVC.
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