title: Can visual information encoded in cortical columns be decoded from magnetoencephalography data in humans?
abstract: It is a principal open question whether noninvasive imaging methods in humans can decode information encoded at a spatial scale as fine as the basic functional unit of cortex: cortical columns. We addressed this question in five magnetoencephalography (MEG) experiments by investigating a columnar-level encoded visual feature: contrast edge orientation. We found that MEG signals contained orientation-specific information as early as approximately 50 ms after stimulus onset even when controlling for confounds, such as overrepresentation of particular orientations, stimulus edge interactions, and global form-related signals. Theoretical modeling confirmed the plausibility of this empirical result. An essential consequence of our results is that information encoded in the human brain at the level of cortical columns should in general be accessible by multivariate analysis of electrophysiological signals.
authors.affiliation: Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: rmcichy@mit.edu.
authors.forename: Radoslaw Martin
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Cichy
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Fernando Mario
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.affiliation: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pantazis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cortical columns; Magnetoencephalography; Multivariate pattern analysis; Orientation encoding