Saliency affects feedforward more than feedback processing in primary visual cortex
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: Visual cortex activity is influenced by both top-down attention and bottom-up saliency effects. We used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over primary visual cortex to investigate how different feature tasks and saliencies influence the timing of visual processing. Participants performed color or orientation judgments on stimuli of the same luminance but different color saliency. A TMS pulse was applied at varying SOAs after stimulus presentation to assess the timecourse of visual suppression. The results showed similar suppression for color and orientation tasks, but differences based upon feature saliency: the more salient stimuli were more resistant to TMS-induced visual suppression than the less salient stimuli, especially at the early SOAs. These results indicate a stronger initial representation of more salient stimuli in primary visual cortex and suggest that different forms of processing may be occurring during early (i.e., feedforward) and late (i.e., feedback) stages of processing.
Source: Journal of Vision
DOI: 10.1167/11.11.151
Authors: T. A. Emmanouil, P. Avigan, M. Persuh, T. Ro
Institution: City College of New York
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,850
OpenAlex ID: W1972185867