Perceptual load affects spatial tuning of neuronal populations in human early visual cortex

Benjamin de Haas; D Samuel Schwarzkopf; Elaine J Anderson; Geraint Rees

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.061

Perceptual load affects spatial tuning of neuronal populations in human early visual cortex

Curr Biol. 2014 Jan 20;24(2):R66-R67. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.061.

Authors

Benjamin de Haas¹, D Samuel Schwarzkopf², Elaine J Anderson³, Geraint Rees⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Cognitive Perceptual and Brain Sciences, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK. Electronic address: benjamindehaas@gmail.com.
² Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Cognitive Perceptual and Brain Sciences, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
³ Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
⁴ Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK.

Abstract

Withdrawal of attention from a visual scene as a result of perceptual load modulates overall levels of activity in human visual cortex [1], but its effects on cortical spatial tuning properties are unknown. Here we show attentional load at fixation affects the spatial tuning of population receptive fields (pRFs) in early visual cortex (V1-3) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that, compared to low perceptual load, high perceptual load yielded a 'blurrier' representation of the visual field surrounding the attended location and a centrifugal 'repulsion' of pRFs. Additional data and control analyses confirmed that these effects were neither due to changes in overall activity levels nor to eye movements. These findings suggest neural 'tunnel vision' as a form of distractor suppression under high perceptual load.

Publication types

Letter
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Retracted Publication

MeSH terms

Cell Count
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Neurons / cytology*
Visual Cortex / physiology*
Visual Perception / physiology*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding