Decoding semantic sound categories in early visual cortex.

ABSTRACT: Early visual cortex, once thought to be exclusively used for visual processes, has been shown to represent auditory information in the absence of visual stimulation. However, the exact information content of these representations is still unclear, as is their degree of specificity. Here, we acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data while blindfolded human participants listened to 36 natural sounds, hierarchically organized into semantic categories. Multivoxel pattern analysis revealed that animate and inanimate sounds, as well as human, animal, vehicle, and object sounds could be decoded from fMRI activity patterns in early visual regions V1, V2, and V3. Further, pairwise classification of the different sound categories demonstrated that sounds produced by humans were repr

SUBMITTER: Pollicina G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12317377 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature