2024/06/08 by Ecem Altan, Catherine Morgan, Steven C. Dakin +1 · 1 voice
Neuroscience · #Face Recognition and Perception #Neural dynamics and brain function #Visual perception and processing mechanisms
paper · pdf · doi:10.1101/2024.06.06.597811
openalex publication_date 2024/06/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
The spatial tuning of neuronal populations in the early visual cortical regions is related to the spatial frequency (SF) selectivity of neurons. However, there has been no direct investigation into how this relationship is reflected in population receptive field (pRF) sizes despite the common application of pRF mapping in visual neuroscience. We hypothesised that adaptation to high/low SF would decrease the sensitivity of neurons with respectively small/large receptive field sizes, resulting in a change in pRF sizes as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). To test this hypothesis, we first quantified the SF aftereffect using a psychophysical paradigm where observers made SF judgments following adaptation to high/low SF noise patterns. We then incorporated the same adaptation technique into a standard pRF mapping procedure, to investigate the spatial tuning of the early visual cortex following SF adaptation. Results showed that adaptation to a low/high SF resulted in smaller/larger pRFs respectively, as hypothesised. Our results provide the most direct evidence to date that the spatial tuning of the visual cortex, as measured by pRF mapping, is related to the SF selectivity of visual neural populations. This has implications for various domains of visual processing, including size perception and visual acuity.