Decoding of coherent but not incoherent motion signals in early dorsal visual cortex.
When several scattered grating elements are arranged in such a way that their directions of motion are consistent with a common path, observers perceive them as belonging to a globally coherent moving object. Here we investigated how this coherence changes the representation of motion signals in human visual cortex using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivariate voxel pattern decoding, which have the potential to reveal how well a stimulus is encoded in different contexts. Only during globally coherent motion was it possible to reliably distinguish fMRI signals evoked by different directions of motion in early visual cortex. This effect was specific to the retinotopic representation of the visual field quadrant in V1 traversed by the coherent element path and could not simply be attributed to a general increase in signal strength. Decoding was more reliable for cortical areas corresponding to the lower visual field. Because some previous studies observed poorer speed discrimination when motion was grouped, we also conducted behavioural experiments to investigate this with our stimuli, but did not reveal a consistent relationship between coherence and perceived speed. Taken together, these data show that neuronal populations in early visual cortex represent information that could be used for interpreting motion signals as unified objects.
Schwarzkopf
Dietrich Samuel
DS
UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London, UK. s.schwarzkopf@fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk
Sterzer
Philipp
P
Rees
Geraint
G
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
Percept Psychophys. 2001 Nov;63(8):1314-29
11800459
Science. 1996 Feb 2;271(5249):651-3
8571128
Neuroimage. 2010 Feb 1;49(3):1943-8
19285144
J Vis. 2008 May 19;8(7):2.1-9
19146235
Curr Biol. 2003 Feb 18;13(4):342-9
12593802
J Neurosci. 2010 Jan 6;30(1):325-30
20053913
J Vis. 2008 Mar 28;8(3):31.1-12
18484837
Neuroimage. 2010 Feb 1;49(3):1957-64
19715765
Vision Res. 2006 Apr;46(8-9):1540-6
16168457
J Neurophysiol. 2009 Sep;102(3):1930-44
19587316
Vision Res. 1991;31(9):1619-26
1949630
Vision Res. 1993 May;33(7):993-9
8506641
Vision Res. 2001 Dec;41(27):3775-82
11712989
Nat Neurosci. 2005 May;8(5):686-91
15852013
J Neurosci. 2007 Jan 31;27(5):1015-23
17267555
Neuroimage. 2006 Sep;32(3):1308-16
16822682
Science. 1995 May 12;268(5212):889-93
7754376
Curr Biol. 2006 Jun 6;16(11):1096-102
16753563
J Vis. 2008 Nov 21;8(15):10.1-12
19146294
Neuron. 1992 Jul;9(1):1-13
1632964
Cereb Cortex. 2001 Dec;11(12):1182-90
11709489
J Neurosci. 1997 Mar 15;17(6):2112-27
9045738
J Neurophysiol. 2006 Jun;95(6):3654-64
16510776
J Neurosci. 2003 Apr 1;23(7):2947-60
12684482
Cereb Cortex. 1997 Apr-May;7(3):283-92
9143447
Nat Neurosci. 2005 May;8(5):679-85
15852014
Spat Vis. 2000;13(4):393-401
11310533
Neuroimage. 2003 Aug;19(4):1273-302
12948688
Neuroimage. 2008 Jan 15;39(2):647-60
17977024
Vision Res. 1997 Nov;37(22):3145-61
9463696
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Nov 12;99(23):15164-9
12417754
Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):179-94
9931268
Neuroimage. 2010 Feb 1;49(3):1965-76
19800408
J Neurosci. 1996 Nov 1;16(21):6945-64
8824332
J Neurosci. 1989 Jul;9(7):2432-42
2746337
Percept Psychophys. 2001 Nov;63(8):1293-313
11800458
Neuroimage. 2002 May;16(1):217-40
11969330
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2000 Aug;10(4):438-43
10981611
Nat Neurosci. 2006 Mar;9(3):429-34
16462737
J Neurosci. 2006 Dec 20;26(51):13128-42
17182764
Nature. 1994 Aug 25;370(6491):644-6
8065449
J Neurophysiol. 2000 Oct;84(4):2048-62
11024097
Nature. 1996 May 9;381(6578):161-3
8610014
Neuroimage. 2007 Feb 1;34(3):1199-208
17169579
J Neurosci. 2002 Oct 1;22(19):8633-46
12351737
J Neurosci. 1996 Nov 15;16(22):7376-89
8929444
Vision Res. 1993 Jan;33(2):173-93
8447091
J Neurophysiol. 2009 Sep;102(3):1854-67
19605615
Neuroimage. 2010 Feb 1;49(3):1953-6
19596071