Journal Article

Ultra-Rapid serial visual presentation reveals dynamics of feedforward and feedback processes in the ventral visual pathway

Qin, Sheng, Cichy, Radoslaw M, Pantazis, Dimitrios, Mohsenzadeh, Yalda

2018

Overview

Human visual recognition activates a dense network of overlapping feedforward and recurrent neuronal processes, making it hard to disentangle processing in the feedforward from the feedback direction. Here, we used ultra-rapid serial visual presentation to suppress sustained activity that blurs the boundaries of processing steps, enabling us to resolve two distinct stages of processing with MEG multivariate pattern classification. The first processing stage was the rapid activation cascade of the bottom-up sweep, which terminated early as visual stimuli were presented at progressively faster rates. The second stage was the emergence of categorical information with peak latency that shifted later in time with progressively faster stimulus presentations, indexing time-consuming recurrent processing. Using MEG-fMRI fusion with representational similarity, we localized recurrent signals in early visual cortex. Together, our findings segregated an initial bottom-up sweep from subsequent feedback processing, and revealed the neural signature of increased recurrent processing demands for challenging viewing conditions. The human brain can interpret the visual world in less than the blink of an eye. Specialized brain regions process different aspects of visual objects. These regions form a hierarchy. Areas at the base of the hierarchy process simple features such as lines and angles. They then pass this information onto areas above them, which process more complex features, such as shapes. Eventually the area at the top of the hierarchy identifies the object. But information does not only flow from the bottom of the hierarchy to the top. It also flows from top to bottom. The latter is referred to as feedback activity, but its exact role remains unclear. Mohsenzadeh et al. used two types of imaging to map brain activity in space and time in healthy volunteers performing a visual task. The volunteers had to decide whether a series of images that flashed up briefly on a screen included a face or not. The results showed that the brain adapts its visual processing strategy to suit the viewing conditions. They also revealed three key principles for how the brain recognizes visual objects. First, if early visual information is incomplete – for example, because the images appeared only briefly – higher regions of the hierarchy spend more time processing the images. Second, when visual information is incomplete, higher regions of the hierarchy send more feedback down to lower regions. This leads to delays in identifying the object. And third, lower regions in the hierarchy – known collectively as early visual cortex – process the feedback signals. This processing takes place at the same time as the higher levels identify the object. Knowing the role of feedback is critical to understanding how the visual system works. The next step is to develop computer models of visual processing. The current findings on the role of feedback should prove useful in designing such models. These might ultimately pave the way to developing treatments for visual impairments caused by damage to visual areas of the brain.

• Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd,eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
• Subject: Adult / Brain Mapping / Classification / Confidence intervals / Copyright / Feedback / Feedback, Physiological / Female / fMRI / Functional magnetic resonance imaging / Humans / Information processing / Latency / Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Magnetoencephalography / Male / MEG / multivariate pattern classification / Neuroscience / Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology / Photic Stimulation / Time Factors / Time series / Visual cortex / Visual Cortex - anatomy & histology / Visual Cortex - diagnostic imaging / Visual Cortex - physiology / visual pathway / Visual Pathways - anatomy & histology / Visual Pathways - diagnostic imaging / Visual Pathways - physiology / Visual stimuli