Top-down control of visual cortex by the frontal eye fields through oscillatory realignment.

ABSTRACT: Voluntary allocation of visual attention is controlled by top-down signals generated within the Frontal Eye Fields (FEFs) that can change the excitability of lower-level visual areas. However, the mechanism through which this control is achieved remains elusive. Here, we emulated the generation of an attentional signal using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to activate the FEFs and tracked its consequences over the visual cortex. First, we documented changes to brain oscillations using electroencephalography and found evidence for a phase reset over occipital sites at beta frequency. We then probed for perceptual consequences of this top-down triggered phase reset and assessed its anatomical specificity. We show that FEF activation leads to cyclic modulation of visual percept

SUBMITTER: Veniero D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7979788 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature