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Neuronal population correlates of target selection and distractor filtering
Elaine Astrand1, Claire Wardak2, Suliann Ben Hamed3
1Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Département de Neuroscience Cognitive, CNRS UMR 5229, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675, Bron Cedex, France; School of Innovation, Design, and Engineering, Mälardalen University, Högskoleplan 1, 721 23, Västerås, Sweden.
Frontal Eye Field (FEF) neuronal populations precisely encode stimulus locations, influencing perception. Spatial accuracy in this prefrontal coding determines whether we consciously perceive visual targets or distractors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Frontal Eye Field (FEF) neurons modulate responses to visual stimuli.
- FEF activity magnitude correlates with conscious perception.
- The spatial representation of stimuli by FEF neuronal populations remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how FEF neuronal populations spatially represent visual stimuli.
- To determine the relationship between spatial coding precision and conscious perception.
Main Methods:
- Recorded FEF neuronal population activity in monkeys during a cued detection task.
- Utilized machine learning to estimate stimulus locations from population activity.
- Analyzed the correlation between estimated and veridical stimulus locations and perception.
Main Results:
- FEF population activity precisely estimates stimulus locations on a single-trial basis.
- Higher spatial accuracy of the FEF estimate correlates with increased probability of perceiving the stimulus.
- Perception is enhanced when attention allocation estimates are spatially precise and near the stimulus.
Conclusions:
- FEF neuronal populations provide precise spatial codes for visual stimuli.
- The spatial precision of FEF coding significantly influences conscious perception.
- Attention and perception exhibit partial independence, mediated by spatially accurate prefrontal coding.
