title: A cortical network that marks the moment when conscious representations are updated.
abstract: In order to survive in a complex, noisy and constantly changing environment we need to categorize the world (e.g., Is this food edible or poisonous?) and we need to update our interpretations when things change. How does our brain update when object categories change from one to the next? We investigated the neural correlates associated with this updating process. We used event-related fMRI while people viewed a sequence of images that morphed from one object (e.g., a plane) to another (e.g., a shark). All participants were naïve as to the identity of the second object. The point at which participants 'saw' the second object was unpredictable and uncontaminated by any dramatic or salient change to the images themselves. The moment when subjective perceptual representations changed activated a circumscribed network including the anterior insula, medial and inferior frontal regions and inferior parietal cortex. In a setting where neither the timing nor nature of the visual transition was predictable, this restricted cortical network signals the time of updating a perceptual representation. The anterior insula and mid-frontal regions (including the ACC) were activated not only at the actual time when change was reported, but also immediately before, suggesting that these areas are also involved in processing alternative options after a mismatch has been detected.
authors.affiliation: University of Waterloo, Department of Psychology, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1. Electronic address: elisabeth.stoettinger@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stöttinger
authors.affiliation: University of Waterloo, Department of Psychology, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1. Electronic address: alsfilip@uwaterloo.ca.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Filipowicz
authors.affiliation: University of Waterloo, Department of Psychology, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1. Electronic address: dvaladao@uwaterloo.ca.
authors.forename: Derick
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Valadao
authors.affiliation: The Brain and Mind Institute, The Natural Sciences Centre, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7. Electronic address: jculham@uwo.ca.
authors.forename: Jody C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Culham
authors.affiliation: The Brain and Mind Institute, The Natural Sciences Centre, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7. Electronic address: mgoodale@uwo.ca.
authors.forename: Melvyn A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Goodale
authors.affiliation: University of Waterloo, Department of Psychology, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1; Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience, University of Waterloo, Canada. Electronic address: britt@uwaterloo.ca.
authors.forename: Britt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: University of Waterloo, Department of Psychology, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1. Electronic address: jdancker@uwaterloo.ca.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Danckert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen