Rapid interactions between the ventral visual stream and emotion-related structures rely on a two-pathway architecture.
Visual attention can be driven by the affective significance of visual stimuli before full-fledged processing of the stimuli. Two kinds of models have been proposed to explain this phenomenon: models involving sequential processing along the ventral visual stream, with secondary feedback from emotion-related structures ("two-stage models"); and models including additional short-cut pathways directly reaching the emotion-related structures ("two-pathway models"). We tested which type of model would best predict real magnetoencephalographic responses in subjects presented with arousing visual stimuli, using realistic models of large-scale cerebral architecture and neural biophysics. The results strongly support a "two-pathway" hypothesis. Both standard models including the retinotectal pathway and nonstandard models including cortical-cortical long-range fasciculi appear plausible.
Rudrauf
David
D
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Propre de Recherche 640-Laboratoire d'Electroencephalographie et de Neurophysiologie Appliquée, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
David
Olivier
O
Lachaux
Jean-Philippe
JP
Kovach
Christopher K
CK
Martinerie
Jacques
J
Renault
Bernard
B
Damasio
Antonio
A
D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*