A dual role of prestimulus spontaneous neural activity in visual object recognition.

ABSTRACT: Vision relies on both specific knowledge of visual attributes, such as object categories, and general brain states, such as those reflecting arousal. We hypothesized that these phenomena independently influence recognition of forthcoming stimuli through distinct processes reflected in spontaneous neural activity. Here, we recorded magnetoencephalographic (MEG) activity in participants (N = 24) who viewed images of objects presented at recognition threshold. Using multivariate analysis applied to sensor-level activity patterns recorded before stimulus presentation, we identified two neural processes influencing subsequent subjective recognition: a general process, which disregards stimulus category and correlates with pupil size, and a specific process, which facilitates category-specific r

SUBMITTER: Podvalny E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6718405 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature