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Distinct Top-down and Bottom-up Brain Connectivity During Visual Perception and Imagery
N Dijkstra1, P Zeidman2, S Ondobaka2
1Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. n.dijkstra@donders.ru.nl.
Scientific Reports
|July 20, 2017
Summary
Visual perception and imagination both use brain visual areas. This study found top-down processing, crucial for imagination, also aids perception, highlighting its role in both internal and external visual experiences.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Visual Processing
Background:
- Perception and imagination activate similar visual brain areas.
- Mechanisms distinguishing perception from imagination are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate directed neural coupling (effective connectivity) between fronto-parietal and visual areas during visual perception and imagery.
- To elucidate the neural mechanisms differentiating sensory perception from mental imagery.
Main Methods:
- Examined effective connectivity using neuroimaging techniques.
- Analyzed directed coupling between fronto-parietal and visual brain regions.
- Correlated connectivity patterns with reported imagery vividness.
Main Results:
- Perception showed increased bottom-up coupling; both perception and imagery showed increased top-down coupling.
- Top-down coupling was significantly stronger during imagery than perception.
- Modulation of frontal to early visual cortex coupling occurred in both perception and imagery.
- Imagery vividness correlated with increased top-down connectivity to early visual cortex.
Conclusions:
- Top-down processing plays a critical role in both internally generated (imagery) and externally driven (perception) visual experiences.
- Effective connectivity patterns differ between perception and imagination, particularly in top-down pathways.
- The findings emphasize the significant contribution of top-down neural mechanisms to visual consciousness.
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