title: Connective field modeling.
abstract: The traditional way to study the properties of visual neurons is to measure their responses to visually presented stimuli. A second way to understand visual neurons is to characterize their responses in terms of activity elsewhere in the brain. Understanding the relationships between responses in distinct locations in the visual system is essential to clarify this network of cortical signaling pathways. Here, we describe and validate connective field modeling, a model-based analysis for estimating the dependence between signals in distinct cortical regions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Just as the receptive field of a visual neuron predicts its response as a function of stimulus position, the connective field of a neuron predicts its response as a function of activity in another part of the brain. Connective field modeling opens up a wide range of research opportunities to study information processing in the visual system and other topographically organized cortices.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; BCN Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States. Electronic address: koenhaak@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Koen V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Haak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Winawer
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Institute, Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ben M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.affiliation: BCN Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Remco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Renken
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Institute, Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Serge O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Dumoulin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Wandell
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; BCN Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frans W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Cornelissen
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008959:Models, Neurological; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Connective field; Functional connectivity; Population receptive field; Visual cortex; fMRI