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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 10, 2026

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

Hierarchical brain dynamics supporting visual perceptual transitions.

Max Levinson^1,2, Alice E Waitt³, Katharina Duecker^3,4

¹Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Science Advances

|May 8, 2026

Summary

Conscious visual experience arises from both sensory cortex activity and higher-order brain inferences. Microsaccades reset these processes, supporting a hierarchical model of visual perception.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Psychology

Background:

Consciousness research debates whether subjective experience originates in sensory areas or higher-order brain regions.
Understanding the neural basis of perceptual transitions is key to consciousness research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying transitions in conscious visual experience.
To differentiate the roles of sensory cortices and higher-order brain regions in perception.

Main Methods:

Whole-brain magnetoencephalography (MEG) and rapid invisible frequency tagging were used.
Neural dynamics during a visual illusion (perceptual filling-in) were tracked.
The influence of microsaccadic eye movements on neural activity was assessed.

Main Results:

Perceptual transitions involved distinct mechanisms: boundary fading in visual cortex (increased excitability, reduced alpha activity) and higher-order monitoring in motor cortex (decreased alpha/beta activity).
Microsaccades were found to reset both visual and motor cortical processes.
Findings suggest a shift in excitation-inhibition balance within the visual cortex.

Conclusions:

Conscious visual experience is shaped by a hierarchical interaction between visual and motor systems.
Dissociable neural mechanisms in sensory and higher-order regions contribute to perceptual transitions.
Microsaccades play a crucial role in modulating conscious visual perception.